By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA
KALUSHA Bwalya’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to suspend the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) elective annual general meeting until his case was heard has been thrown out.
Bwalya sued FAZ through the CAS ethics committee for having disqualified him from contesting the FAZ elections on the basis that he had failed the integrity test and that the FAZ Electoral Committee was incorrectly and illegally constituted.
But CAS sole arbitrator André Brantjes dismissed his appeal and said that the FAZ Electoral Committee and the FAZ Electoral Appeal Committee were in order to put into account the FIFA ban slapped on Bwalya in 2018 for corruption.
“The application for provisional measures filed by Mr Kalusha Bwalya on 2 March 2020 in the matter CAS 2020/A/6812 Kalusha Bwalya v. Football Association of Zambia is dismissed,”
“The Sole Arbitrator finds that the FAZ Electoral Committee and the FAZ Electoral Appeal Committee were entitled to take into account the Appellant’s (Bwalya) conviction by the FIFA Ethics Committee and the FIFA Appeals Committee in their assessment,”
“The Sole Arbitrator has no reason to believe that the FAZ Electoral Appeals Committee was incorrectly and illegally constituted. There is no indication that Mr Mando, as chair of the FAZ Electoral Appeals Committee, lacked the required independence or impartiality at the time of issuance of the Appealed decision. The mere fact that he and his firm were later retained as counsel for the FAZ does not make this any different,”
CAS also directed FAZ to go ahead with the elections as planned despite Bwalya asking for in injunction until his matter is heard.
“Suspending the elections until a final award on the merits of these present appeal arbitration proceedings is issued presumably also causes significant inconvenience for the FAZ. Particularly considering the above assessment on the criterion of the likelihood of success, the Sole Arbitrator finds that the balancing of interests sways in favour of the FAZ to proceed with the presidential elections as planned. Consequently, the Appellant’s application for provisional measures is denied,” he said.
FAZ was today scheduled to hold its elective general meeting but the meeting has since been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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