Mbabane – South African businesswoman Shawn ‘MaMkhize’ Mkhize says the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) and the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) have no duty in the Mbabane Highlanders Football Club internal affairs, yet Bheki ‘Rubber’ Simelane jumped ship and rushed to launch his matter at the High Court.
This follows the Bheki ‘Rubber’ Simelane argument since he filed an urgent application at the High Court in August against the Chairman of the Board of Patrons of Mbabane Highlanders F.C., Shawn Mkhize, Mbabane Highlanders Football Club, the PLE and the EFA as the five respondents, respectively, over his sacking as a Board of Governors.
The court heard Mkhize’s lawyer’s submission that Simelane’s application seeks to rely on a rule that presumes that he was not afforded the right to be heard by the PLE and the EFA.
“In order to be successful on this ground, the applicant has to demonstrate that the Fourth and Fifth Respondents had a duty in terms of the law to afford the applicant that hearing. It would appear that the Fourth and Fifth Respondents have no such duty, as they do not involve themselves in club disputes,” Mkhize argued.
She also said that while the argument was that Simelane was not afforded the right to be heard by the PLE and the EFA, it is self-defeating that these organisations have no part in the club’s internal affairs.
Mkhize also argued that the enjoinment of the PLE and the EFA in the court proceedings would have perhaps been better if Simelane’s application stated that he exhausted all internal remedies under their structures before rushing to court, thus rendering Judge Titus Mlangeni’s granting of a final order to have them interdicted and restrained incompetent.
“In any event, even if the Applicant had such right to be heard, it should have explored all internal remedies available within the structures of the Fourth and Fifth Respondents before approaching the above honourable Court. The applicants have failed to set out the grounds for the review.
“In light of the submissions made above, we humbly submit in conclusion that the application is without merit and amounts to an abuse of court process and has to be dismissed with an appropriate order for costs,” Mkhize submitted, adding that the court of appeals established the grounds of a final interdict in the civil appeal case of Indvuna Gangile Hlatshwako N.O. v Andreas Dingane Makhathu and Another.
Simelane sought orders to have further processes at the operations of the Mbabane Highlanders Football Club, PLE and the EFA stayed, pending finalisation of the above matter with interim and immediate relief.
He also seeks orders reviewing and setting aside the decision of the patrons of his removal as the sole director of club; the review and set aside of the illicit decision of his removal sole governor of the Board of Governors and ancillary operations; review and set aside of removal without affording him the opportunity to make the necessary representations; his reinstatement as the sole director and governor in terms of the management agreement and appointing letter; declaration to be the substantive sole director; order declaring that the purported or subsequent appointment of Mkhize as director or anyone who may be acting at their behest, to his exclusion, to be null and void ab initio; and interdict and restraining order against any person purporting to be acting as Mbabane Highlanders FC director as well as cost of suit.
The court reserved its judgement.
Discussion about this post