Times Of Swaziland: AAS’ MTHEMBU, TWO  OTHERS WIN ‘ROUND 1’

AAS’ MTHEMBU, TWO  OTHERS WIN ‘ROUND 1’
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BY THEMBA ZWANE on 12/01/2019 08:47:00


MBABANE – They have been granted their prayers. That is the Athletics
Association of Swaziland (AAS), President Gideon Mthembu and Sipho Vilakati.
Yesterday at the Mbabane Magistrates Courts, Magistrate Lenhle Zulu made a
ruling in favour of the three.
The association is the first applicant; Mthembu the second , with Vilakati being
the third.
The association took five members of its interim committee to court for
allegedly being in office illegally.
Respondents in the matter are the AAS Secretary General Thoba Mazibuko, TZD
Athletics Club Director Zakhele Dlamini, Manzini Athletics Club (MAC) Coach Muzi
Mabuza, Harry Malindzisa and Deli Simelane.
The applicants sought the court to direct that the respondents be and are
interdicted from proceeding with the meeting scheduled for today or any other
meeting thereof in the name of the first applicant.
They further sought that the respondents be and are interdicted from operating
and or representing themselves as the leadership of the first applicant.
In addition, the applicants sought that the first respondent be directed to hand
over all assets of the association to the board or executive committee.
The TZD Athletics Club director is from Dlamini Kunene Attorneys and represented
the respondents while Bongani Phakathi of M.H. Attorneys represented the
applicants.
In his answering affidavit, Dlamini said the court lacked jurisdiction to hear
and determine the application as all the respondents except for Harry Malindzisa
were not from the Hhohho Region.
He also submitted that the matter was not urgent, and if at all urgent, such
urgency was self-created.
He said the applicants became aware of the circumstance giving rise to these
proceedings on December 1, 2018 when an Interim Committee was appointed
following the stepping down of the members of the Executive Committee who
attended that meeting.
He therefore wanted it to be treated as such.
Thirdly, the lawyer submitted to court that the applicants did not satisfy the
requirements for the granting of an interdict in so far as they had an
alternative remedy available to them. He said in terms of Article 5.1 of the AAS
Constitution, the General Assembly was the Supreme decision-maker of the AAS.
Magistrate Zulu ruled in favour of the applicants that the meeting scheduled for
today be stopped.
She also disputed that the court did not have the jurisdiction to hear and
determine the application as all the respondents except for Malindzisa were not
from the Hhohho Region.
According to Phakathi, the court gave the applicant the interim relief and the
court will summon both lawyers to advise them of a return date to court where
they will be furnished with the magistrate’s reasons for her decision.
This will be before Tuesday according to the magistrate.
Dlamini said they were yet to return to court to wholly argue the matter.