Staff at the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) arrived at work on Tuesday morning to find Football House in Rhodes Park, along Alick Nkhata Road, locked. Posters had been placed on the doors calling for the dismissal of both Secretary General Reuben Kamanga and his deputy, John Msimuko.
The incident comes just two weeks after the election of Keith Mweemba as FAZ president, succeeding Andrew Kamanga, who had appointed Reuben Kamanga as Secretary General two years ago.
Reacting to the situation, Mweemba described the locking of Football House — along with the posters demanding Kamanga’s dismissal — as “purely administrative.”
“The general secretary is here, and we have the media team. So they’ll give you proper answers. This one as FAZ president is purely administrative, so I cannot really say anything at the moment,” Mweemba told journalists gathered outside Football House.
“It’s too early to comment,” he added. “They just opened the door, and I’m going in. I want you to be very calm, and let’s assess the situation inside. We have got the police here, and my general secretary is here. And then my vice president is also here.
“The media person is here. We have got the sports council. So the right people will comment, but first of all, it’s too early for me to give a comment.”
His vice president, Mutale Nga’ndu — who is also newly elected — described the incident as “unfortunate” and cautioned against speculation regarding who may be behind it.
“We invited the law enforcement agency. They’re carrying out an investigation. So until now, I’m sure there’s nothing that we can say as the president guided that we’re also going to do this administratively.
“So we’re waiting to hear from the law enforcement; they’re here. They’ll do an investigation, then we’ll definitely get back to you,” Nga’ndu told journalists.
“So we cannot speculate at this point. We cannot point any finger at anyone, but I think it’s something that is very unfortunate. This is not the way you express your grievances, but of course, let’s not point fingers at anyone. We’ll just wait for the law enforcement to carry out their job,” Nga’ndu concluded.
Police have since launched an investigation into the matter but have not yet issued an official statement.
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