The country’s professional boxing control board, Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB), has been embroiled in controversy for allegedly violating the country’s governing laws and also for ruling with an iron fist.
Pundits have argued that professional boxing may appear to be making progress, but in reality, it continues to traverse a crisis that has been deepening since the formation of MPBCB last year.
Boxing pundits observed that there was no separation of powers in the board since it acts as the controlling board and also the sanctioning board. As a controlling board, it was supposed to regulate the sport, but there is conflict of interest when it also sanctions fights.
Boxing pundits have also questioned the legality of the board, which was registered with the Registrar’s office as Professional Boxing Control Board Limited Company (PBCB), but instead it has opted to call itself Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board.
Despite being registered as a private company, the board is using a protected name Malawi, national flag colours and also coat of arms on its boxing belts, which is a violation of Chapter 18:03 Section Five of the Protected Flag, Emblems and Names.
The chapter states that notwithstanding anything contained in any written law, no person shall, except with the written permission of the Minister— (b) use or display, or permit to be used or displayed, any protected emblem, protected name, protected likeness or the protected colours as an advertisement for any trade, business, calling or profession.
Daud Chikwanje, who was the secretary of MPBCB’s board of directors before he was controversially dismissed, confirmed that the board was registered as Boxing Control Board Limited Company, and he was surprised that it uses the name Malawi and also protected emblems on its boxing belts.
In one of his e-mail correspondences to the chairperson of the board, dated May 12, 2015 which was copied to the media, Chikwanje once reminded the board chairperson that using the protected names and emblems was illegal and criminal.
“My writing as one of the Directors of the above company limited is to advise you to withdraw from the media the use of the protected name called Malawi, using of state emblems and flags on the boxing belt while operating as a business company,” Chikwanje said.
In a separate interview, Chikwanje confirmed to have advised the board on the need to master the country’s constitutional details to avoid falling into legal traps.
“I did that in my capacity as a secretary to the board. In fact, we were three of us who registered that body as a limited company; there was myself, Lonzoe Zimba and late Kalisinje. That board is not supposed to use the name Malawi or Malawi colours on its boxing belts. It is a private company and they risk arrest.”
Recently, the board was also embroiled in another controversy after it sanctioned a fight between bantam weight boxer, Wilson Masamba and Malani Kayuni, when the latter was supposed to rest for three months after he was knocked-out in Namibia on December 4, 2015.
Masamba, who failed to beat the count after he was knocked down in 47 seconds, was supposed to serve his breather up to March 3, 2016, according to international boxing rules, which state that any boxer who is knocked out in a fight is supposed to rest for three months.
However, MPBCB ended up approving his fight on February 21, 2016 in Lilongwe which he won on a unanimous points’ decision against Kayuni.
Coincidentally, Masamba is also currently serving a six-month suspension after he questioned MPBCB’s management style prior to his non-title fight with Kayuni, claiming there was no glimmer of hope in the sport.
Another boxer, Felix Mwamaso, was forced to defend his middleweight title against Brian Mwando in February despite complaining that the board gave him little time to prepare, and that he was not happy to defend the belt at K200, 000.
The board threatened to suspend the boxer before he retired in round eight.
One of the boxing judges speaking on conditions of anonymity said: “The problem is that there is no separation of powers in MPBCB. This was supposed to be a controlling board, but unfortunately it is also sanctioning the fights. As a controlling board, it is supposed to be hearing complaints and appeals from the boxers and promoters. But when the board also sanctions the fights, athletes and promoters have nowhere to complain when aggrieved. MPBCB acts as the prosecutor and judge at the same time.
“We need to come up with different boards to be sanctioning the fights. That is the norm in Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the rest of the world. This is not a healthy set-up. Sports Council needs to look into this matter, otherwise it is like they have left professional boxing in the hands of one person,” he said.
A local boxing promoter, Mawenzie Msiska, said it was sad that the board was busy collecting boxing fees yet it has no code of conduct and the decisions were made unilaterally by a few individuals in the board.
“We don’t hold meetings to agree on some of these things, this is not on. The board should work as a unit,” he said.
Frank Chibisa, the board’s spokesperson, confirmed that they indeed use the name Malawi because they had consent from the Sports Council.
“It is called Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board. We have letters to that effect which we were given by Sports Council. We were given consent,” he said.
On Masamba’s fight, Chibisa also said they had verified the dates and found that the boxer fought in November, but he could not give the exact dates of the fight.
“We discussed that issue at length with all the concerned people and we realised that he fought in November,” he added.
The country’s sports mother body, Sports Council’s administration manager, Henry Mereka, said the use of protected names and emblems is prohibited, unless one is given a special clearance from government.
Mereka clarified that MPBCB was not affiliated to Sports Council because it was a private entity, but the Council recognises Malawi Boxing Association (Maba).
He said when the board was delinking itself from Maba, they argued that they wanted to promote the welfare of boxers.
“Now we are hearing that boxers are being suspended and there are all these things happening. I totally agree that a way out must be found. If the managers of the boxers are not happy they can come to us and complain,” Mereka said.
He said boxing is a delicate sport and as Sports Council, they would not accept to put the lives of boxers at risk.
“This happens because people want to rush for money. We must come in for the long-term good of the sport,” Mereka said.
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