Civonets fires team manager

Central Region netball giants Civonets have fired team manager Patricia Jumbe due to alleged poor performance of the team.

Civonets chairperson Catherine Muphuwa confirmed the news, claiming Jumbe was also unwillingness to work with the new committee.

But Jumbe described the claim as baseless. Instead, she said she was being viewed as a threat by the committee as she was blocking some member’s personal enrichment at the expense of the players.

Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) appointed the committee headed by former Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) vice-president Muphuwa two months ago.

“It is true that we have fired her. She was not ready to work with us. Before we were appointed, she was running all the affairs of the team. She did not want to take instructions from us,” said Muphuwa.

“The other thing is the team’s poor performance. For a long time, the team has failed to perform and the worst was during the recent Presidential Cup when the team performed badly,” she said

In response, Jumbe who served the team for more than seven years, said: “All what they have accused me of is untrue. The truth is that I was like a threat to them and that is why they have decided to throw me out so that they can be free to do whatever they want. I wanted the players to be the ones enjoying the team’s benefits because they are the ones who sweat on the court.”

One of the senior players who opted for anonymity, said the decision to fire Jumbe will negatively affect the team.

The committee has replaced Jumbe with the vice-secretary [Miss Kawoza] as a caretaker.