Bullets trustees shun wrangles
As internal wrangles threaten to affect operations of Big Bullets FC, the club’s board of trustees are keeping a distance, claiming they are often accused of interference.
This comes in the wake of reports that some members of the team and players sought the intervention of the trustees to resolve problems that have rocked the team.
The club’s former treasurer Kondi Msungama confirmed approaching the club’s executive committee and the trustees on the matter.
“We cannot pretend that things are well because behind the scenes, there is a lot of bickering, a situation that is not healthy at all. It is no secret that there are divisions within the executive between a group loyal to the chairperson Malinda Chinyama and his deputy Austin Kasito.
“As a first step, I contacted the board and the current executive committee through general secretary Higger Mkandawire to consider calling for a meeting to sort out the differences,” said Msungama.
He added that while there could be some problems, the Bullets family cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the current leadership saved the team from extinction.
“Malinda and his team did a wonderful job that led to the team’s resurgence, but that does not mean they are immune to criticism. The issue that has created a lot of controversy is Gaba’s [Gabadinho Mhango] transfer and I advised the executive and the trustees that the best way to get to the bottom of the issue is to call for a meeting to clear such issues.
“Unfortunately, the response I got from the GS was that when he briefed the chairperson, he said that a meeting is not necessary because they are planning to call for an AGM [annual general meeting] at the end of the season and I have had no response from the trustees. But this is an issue which needs to be addressed urgently,” said Msungama.
Mkandawire and Chinyama could not be reached for their comments while Kasito refused to comment.
However, the club’s board of trustees chairperson James Busile and board member Jim Kalua yesterday said going by experience, they cannot intervene at this stage.
Said Busile: “Recently, a group of players and a section of the executive, in particular Kasito’s camp approached me to seek our intervention, but I told them that they should meet first and come up with resolutions before seeking our intervention as we do not want the past scenario whereby we were accused of interference. But we will not allow the issue to get out of hand.”
On his part, Kalua said: “Those that have constructive ideas can come to us. We met as trustees recently, but we are a bit cautious on how we should take up the matter to avoid misconceptions.”
The controversy surrounding Gabadinho’s transfer caused a stir in Bullets leading to some members of the club’s Central Region-based executive committee demanding the resignation of the top brass to pave the way for investigations, but Chinyama dismissed the call, saying there was no basis for such a move.
He claimed there was nothing sinister in Gaba’s deal and that they had to accept a meagre transfer fee as Bloemfontein Celtic were not willing to spend a penny on the player. Chinyama also claimed that to the contrary, the decision to call for the resignation of some senior officials was only made by Kasito.
