FORMER Warriors manager Ernest “Mapepa” Sibanda staged the greatest Houdini’s Act on Tuesday, surviving a possible long-term ban from football activities for the Asiagate match-fixing scandal after “spilling the beans” to the committee that investigated the shame.
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Mapepa — a former Highlanders manager — was handed a wholly suspended five-year ban from all football matters for his involvement in the Asiagate saga. His pardon is probably due to his co-operation with investigators when the scam was unearthed.
The former Highlanders chairman was not picking up his mobile phone when sought for comment yesterday. Later it was being answered by someone who said Mapepa had gone to Gwanda and left it in the office. It was later unreachable.
Sibanda wrote to the chairman of the investigating committee Ndumiso Gumede during the investigations.
Below is part of the interview that Sibanda had with the probe team:
Chairman: Thank you for coming at such a short notice. The committee would want you to be open and frank about the trips that you undertook with the national teams from 2007 up to the current period. We are primarily investigating the Asia trips which brought our football to shame.
Sibanda: Thank you very much. It is my wish and it is crucial for Zimbabwe to get the truth about these match-fixing games which took place. I shall be open to my best recollection. I went to Malaysia for Merdeka Cup in 2007 and Yemen. For Merdeka tournament I had to bring with me two players from Bulawayo. The head of delegation (HOD) was Japajapa Godfrey. We arrived in Singapore and met Rajah (Wilson Perumal) and then boarded a bus to Malaysia. That same night, the officials were taken for a drink by Rajah. Rajah and his team were in free communication with our players. Rajah said they were going to pay the players for the independence tournament and no-one else.
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I was not worried about anything because of our set-up at that moment. Everything looked good. During our first match, we were paid money at half-time when we were actually losing 0-2. We were told to concede another two goals in the second half. We were, by then $1 000 richer each.
After the game, we were paid $1 000 each, to the players, and $1 400 to technical team. This was irresistible due to the financial meltdown in Zimbabwe by then. Wellington Nyatanga, the then Zifa president, came to visit us just for the opening game and pocketing $10 000, or so I was made to understand. He spent only one night and his room was then used by head coach Sunday Chidzambwa.
We also had, as part of our delegation, Robson Sharuko and Josh Munthali. They were both accorded the official delegate status and we were all in it in all we did. Our traveling tickets were e-tickets, bought by Rajah, and (Jonathan) Musavengana was the contact person. Musavengana was also the one who called us up for this assignment.
On our arrival at Singapore, there was Rajah and three people waiting for us to take us through using a bus. On transit, in the bus, there was nothing that Rajah and crew did that looked fishy. The distance was less than 100km. Our HOD was paying us as officials and this included the media personnel, while Rajah was paying the players.
Players were paid approximately between $3 000 and $4 000 each and official $7 000 each. I was really shocked by these big monies, especially in that we were given some good monies at half time, when we were losing and then also for failing to qualify for the quarter-finals. As we were playing, I could sense there was something fishy with our approach to the games.”
