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Rushwaya refutes Zifa allegations

Sport
Former Zifa chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya has came out guns blazing, refuting allegations that she was behind the Warriors’ dismal performance in the last two 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Rushwaya — who was recently cleared of match-fixing charges by the courts — was accused by some media reports of having met with four Warriors […]

Former Zifa chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya has came out guns blazing, refuting allegations that she was behind the Warriors’ dismal performance in the last two 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Rushwaya — who was recently cleared of match-fixing charges by the courts — was accused by some media reports of having met with four Warriors players, two of whom are still suspended and the other two who are still with the Warriors in a meeting said to be suspicious.

Last night Zifa advised world football governing body Fifa on the latest match-fixing suspicions. The four players were identified by the State media and social networks as Knowledge Musona, Ovidy Karuru and the suspended pair of Thomas Sweswe and Zhaimu Jambo.

According to claims by Zifa officials, Rushwaya was said to have met the four players at her offices in town.

Speaking to journalists at a media briefing, Rushwaya’s lawyer Jonathan Samkange said they were not taking this issue lightly and were proceeding with instituting legal action against all those who had been saying all sorts of “rubbish” about her.

Asked whether his client met the players, Samkange said Rushwaya spent much of her time in Chinhoyi on the day in question and came back into town later during the day where she had lunch at Queen of Hearts Restaurant and produced a receipt, number 57, valued at $40.

He said Rushwaya was free to interact and talk to anyone as permitted by Zimbabwean law. “First and foremost, we live in a democratic Zimbabwe where everyone has freedom to expression, movement and socialisation.

“The other thing is that Rushwaya is a former Zifa chief executive officer and had created that motherly relationship with these boys so no one can question their being together. In fact, even if they had personally interacted, there is nothing wrong about that because she was a motherly or sisterly figure to most players.

“Zifa is not a court of law that can say Rushwaya must not socialise with players as long as she does not have any court order that bars her from talking to these players,” Samkange said. “It’s high time we showed the nation that we have teeth that can bite. At first I thought the war was going to be over as soon as I was cleared by the courts, but I can see some people are trying to stalk me which is a crime on its own.

“I would also want to make the record straight that I am not a match-fixer, and I have no intention of coming back to football,” Rushwaya said.

Rushwaya also challenged Zifa and the committee that is investigating the Asiagate scandal to clear players that are under suspensions as the so-called “mastermind” of the scandal had been absolved of any wrongdoing.

“If the mastermind of the scandal was cleared, what is the reason for keeping these kids under suspension? They have to clear the boys so that they can start moving forward with their lives,” she said.