The South African Football Association has been in turmoil recently. Eyebrows were raised when the Special Investigative Unit of the Hawks raided SAFA House at the FNB Stadium, confiscating laptops and hard-drives of the SAFA CFO. The items have since been returned but the action left no doubt in the minds of football followers that all is not well within the football's controlling body. Amidst this drama, SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan is facing allegations of maladministration and the alleged misuse of funds while old foes have come out from the woods and also threatening to derail the running of the organisation. This does not bode well for the organization as it should be preparing for two upcoming high profile 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. The Siya crew went digging.
What the Siya crew has been told…
Events that have been taking place within the corridors of the South African Football Association (SAFA) are not good for the image of the country and the association. In fact, they are giving the impression that SAFA is under siege and on the verge of collapse. The search and seizure raid conducted by the Hawks at the SAFA headquarters investigating allegations of fraud and theft amounting to R1.3m allegedly committed by incumbent President Dr Danny Jordaan left the country in a state of shock.
The raid has caused consternation across the continent, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) expressing deep concerns and have requested a full report from SAFA. The Siya sources informed this publication that tensions, bickering, in-fighting and back-biting that have been simmering have now surfaced within the organisation and now it seems like the chickens are coming home to roost.
The troubles inside SAFA House were laid bare for all to see when a member of the National Executive Committee issued a damning statement that was not only scathing but came short of stating that the leadership has not only abdicated its responsibilities but have completely lost control.
Former vice-president, Gladwin White, publicly claimed that SAFA: "Had abandoned its fiduciary duties of alienating wrong from right and agreeing to factual and ethical debates intended to put SAFA on an ethical pedestal.
"Instead, much of the NEC members, who are confusing themselves as serving at the behest of our President (Dr Jordaan) are voting without comprehension for immoral and unethical positions. Anyone with a contrasting and progressive view is incorrectly accused of working with the enemy," said White.
The shenanigans at SAFA House have turned brother against brother, colleague against colleague within the association that has for many years prided itself of being the shining example of how a federation should operate within the African continent. If anything, the harsh condemnation of the SAFA leadership by someone who used to be the blue-eyed boy of the current leadership is indicative of the deep-rooted divisions and comes at a time when the SAFA staff threatened to stage a strike demanding an increase in their wages.
It also left the impression that the SAFA hierarchy has lost the dressing room, literally speaking, and unless the leadership regains control and rein in some of their members that seem to consider themselves larger than the organisation, it is headed for a hard fall.
The latest spat emanated from a security company whose contract was terminated by CEO Lydia Monyepao. The security company was awarded a contract to offer their services, despite the fact that they were charging SAFA twice the amount paid to another security company that had been rendering their services to SAFA.
A couple of weeks ago, two former Bafana Bafana players – Aaron Mokoena and David Nyathi – were allegedly mugged and robbed at gunpoint while staying at the SAFA headquarters in Fun Valley.
This raised serious concerns about the safety and security of the SAFA staff members and players not to mention movable objects owned by SAFA unless a "reputable" security company was hired without delay. However, Siya sources, while concerned about the emotional trauma that might have been experienced by the two stalwarts, cast doubts about the veracity of the reported break-in at Fun Valley as something that had the hallmarks of being "staged" to heighten the "lack" of security at the venue.
Amid the chaos, the SAFA CEO terminated the short-term contract of the controversial security company a week before the Hawks raided SAFA House.
The story behind the scenes…
Damning allegations!
A spokesman for the Hawks, Col. Katlego Mogale, claimed that their raid had been necessitated by allegations that incumbent President Dr Danny Jordaan is alleged to have used the organization's resources "for his personal gain" between 2014 and 2018.
Reports have since emerged that Public Relations company Grit Communications were hired by Dr Jordaan to spruce up his image following a series of damaging publicity on the SAFA boss. In their report, which is in the possession of the Hawks, and contained in court documents, the PRE company detailed their mandate and how they went about trying to polish Dr Jordaan's image and charged R1.3m for their efforts.
The investigation of the Hawks includes further allegations that Dr Jordaan hired a private security company for his personal protection and additionally hired a public relations company to spruce up the image of the organization without seeking approval and authorisation from the SAFA Board.
However, the Siya sources informed this publication that the R1.3m alleged to have been misappropriated by the President is masking the real motive behind the raid which they claim include deeper investigations into the alleged "true cost" of purchasing the Fun Valley resort.
According to Siya sources, there are allegations that the resort was purchased for far less than the reported R65m and the Hawks have been requested to probe the real value of the property. One of the whistle-blowers in this whole saga, former SAFA Tshwane President Willy Mooka, alleged during an interview with the SABC that he discovered while still a member of the SAFA Finance committee, that SAFA was paying an excessive amount for the removal of an ablution septic tank at Fun Valley.
"I use the same system at my farm where I stay," said Mooka. "However, the septic tank is removed at least after three to four months and the company that empties the said tank charges me R500. But to discover that SAFA was paying R600 000 a month for similar services was astounding," charged Mooka.
Unwanted sideshow
Signs that all was not well within SAFA surfaced two months ago when confidential emails by a group of SAFA employees were leaked to social media platforms where employees exchanged insults that clearly displayed deep-rooted divisions about members that have literally gone rogue.
Walter Steenbok, the SAFA Technical Director, literally exchanged insults with David Moloantwa, who was Bafana Bafana Head of Delegation at the AFCON in Cote d'Ivoire and basically called him "stupid," prompting the latter to seek an apology or he would institute litigation.
The Siya crew was also informed that the former South African women U-17 coach Simphiwe Dludlu was pushed out of her job for opposing a decision to close down the TUKS High Performance Centre, a decision that was rescinded at the SAFA NEC meeting last week where it was decided that she will be reinstated.
SAFA Head of Women Football Romaney Pinnock has, according to Siya sources, been forced out of the head office at Nasrec and is said to be operating independently from Cape Town as some rogue units at the organisation allegedly do not want her anywhere near SAFA House.
In another sideshow related to SAFA, Head of Referees Victor Gomes is alleged to have seriously fallen out of favour with top referee Zakhele Siwela, even though the duo used to be as tight as Siamese twins during the time both were active. The duo handled the CAF Champions League final between Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca in Morocco and had also taken charge of the high-profile FIFA World Cup match between Spain and Japan at the Qatar World Cup finals.
What SAFA says about the Hawks raid
The South African Football Association's (SAFA) headquarters in Nasrec, described the search and seizure action of the Hawks on their premises as "unfortunate and a shame to our law enforcement agencies".
"We want to set it out from the onset that we believe the search was unlawful, malicious and not conducted in terms of the directives of a warrant given to us.
"We were not furnished with all the documents prescribed by law. The documents that were furnished by the Hawks during the shameful raid were incomplete and unlawful. We contend that it was done deliberately and intentionally in order to action this malicious action.
"As a result of this, we have instructed our attorneys to bring an urgent application to review and set aside this search and seizure. We have further instructed our attorneys to bring a formal complaint to the oversight arbitrator of the Hawks regarding the action of all involved members.
"We will further institute civil action for defamation of character against those involved in the naming of the SAFA President's name in an ongoing investigation. We contend that this is unethical and unlawful as the police never mentioned anyone's name in matters that are under investigation."
SAFA have since lodged a complaint, with a High court judge claiming the raid had been unlawful.
"We are waiting for further action from the judge after lodging an application to have the warrant of the search and seizure set aside," explained SAFA CFO Gronie Hluyo.
SAFA ban and then unban Ria Ledwaba
In what has been described as a bizarre if not crazy period for the organization, they won a court case against former vice President Ria Ledwaba, and then immediately banned her from all football activities as a "persona non grata!"
The decision was widely condemned by football followers with some claiming that SAFA might have over-stepped their powers by banning an individual for merely seeking redress from the courts of law. But in a dramatic turn of events, SAFA overturned their own decision a mere fortnight after banning her by writing to her, informing Ledwaba that her "ban" has been lifted unconditionally.
"We refer to the letter sent to you (Ledwaba) dated 6 March 2024," reads a letter from SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao.
"Further reference is given to the judgement of the high court of South Africa, Gauteng division, Pretoria under case number 037466/2022 that was delivered by the Honourable Judge Holland- Muter on February 9.
"After thorough consultation with our legal team, and in studying the judgement further, we noted that the Honourable Judge held that, inter alia ad paragraphs 17, 21, 22 and 29 thereof, you are no longer a member of SAFA nor do you hold a position within our structures and as such have no locus standi to invoke the SAFA statutes.
"The above is one of the reasons why the Honourable Judge made an order that you have no right to refer a dispute to a SAFA Arbitration and as such the court dismissed your application with cots on an attorney and client scale, including the costs of two Counsel one being that of Senior Counsel.
"Based on the above and by virtue of the fact that you are nowhere within the structures of SAFA with no locus standi and as such we have no jurisdiction over you, we regret having sent you the latter dated March 6, 2024 which is hereby withdrawn."
What Ledwaba legal team says
A former CEO of SAFA and now in the corner of Ledwaba, declared that FIFA should establish a normalization committee that would draw a road map for South Africa. Speaking during a media conference called by Ledwaba before she was unbanned a day before the conference, Lesley Sedibe who is now representing Ledwaba, said South African football was in a sorry state.
"The turn of events with SAFA have been very interesting to say the least because my instruction before Ms Ledwaba's unbanning were to look into filing a court application against SAFA, and possibly a defamation lawsuit," said Sedibe.
"But all of these things obviously have been overtaken by the sudden turn of events following the withdrawal of the letter banning Mme Ledwaba which was the correct thing to do. This is something SAFA should not have done (banning Ledwaba) in the first place.
"It was completely out of order and so what we are waiting for is for SAFA to formally apologise for declaring Mme Ledwaba a persona non grata, basically suggesting she is an unwelcome person. We certainly don't treat people that have contributed to the development of the beautiful game in this particular manner.
"The second thing we know about the raid by the Hawks at SAFA House is that CAF has called on SAFA to provide them with an explanation. Now, we would be requesting a copy of their response to CAF and if they don't comply, we will file an application in terms of the promotion of the access to information Act, section 53, calling on SAFA to make that public information available.
"SAFA, just like CAF and FIFA, exercises public power and in the interest of the public, they (SAFA) have the responsibility to tell South Africans what exactly is going on within the organization.
"The third thing that is going to happen is that I have been approached by certain SAFA structures to bring an application to declare some of the SAFA NEC members including the President Danny Jordaan as delinquent director, because this madness that is going on at SAFA, cannot continue."
