Wanderers supporters ‘fire’ executive vice-GS

Be Forward Wanderers main supporters committee has ‘fired’ the club’s executive committee vice-general secretary (GS) Chris Kananji, claiming that he was creating divisions among supporters.

The supporters’ committee chairperson Yamikani Kaliyapa made the announcement yesterday during a press briefing at Wanderers Club House in Blantyre, where his committee also produced a letter of dismissal that has been copied to Kananji, the club’s board of trustees’ general secretary Patrick Jumbe, executive committee general secretary Mike Butao and Super League of Malawi (Sulom) general secretary Williams Banda.

However, Kananji told The Nation yesterday that he will not bow down to pressure and he will remain in office until the end of his tenure in 2017.

On his part, Butao said they do not accept the ‘firing’, describing it as unprocedural.

In a letter dated August 29 2016 and signed by the entire 17-member supporters committee, the supporters claim Kananji’s ‘dismissal’ follows his “tendency of treating the main supporters committee unfairly, especially when we have away games in Central and Northern regions.”

The letter reads in part: “He [Kananji] normally favours supporters from the Centre and the North, thereby bringing divisions among us [supporters].

“Furthermore, he has been denying us the privilege to have materials that come from our sponsors. He forgets that we are also important in running football affairs and we are always with the team at its base. These reasons are worth to say [he is] a selfish and biased person and we can no longer work with him in any capacity.”

During the briefing, Kaliyapa added that “more executive committee members will also face the chop if they do anything that will bring confusion in the team  because the supporters are the owners of the club.”

But Kananji said the supporters committee is just wasting its time because it is only through elections in 2017 that he can be removed from office.

“I was elected into office by over 400 supporters and there is no way three or four people can connive to remove me. As a mature executive committee member, I will always stand by the truth,” he said.

In spite of that, Butao said the executive committee will not recognise the supporters committee’s decision because it was done without making consultations and that the supporters have no powers to fire executive committee members.

“We expected the supporters committee to approach us if they had a problem with any official so that we could solve the issue amicably, but such a thing did not happen. We, therefore, will not react to their letter, but we will seek guidance from the trustees,” Butao said. n