HILARIOUSLY-SPORTIVE:
By Danesius Marteh, archie2024@gmail.com
Losers in the Liberia Football Association (LFA) elections held at the Samuel Kanyon Doe sports complex in Paynesville on April 14 are now supporting Rochelle Woodson’s case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) filed last March.
In the run-up to the elections, Woodson had publicly flagged several violations of the 2017 LFA revised statutes and 2013 LFA electoral code.
In a March 17 email to LFA secretary-general Emmanuel Deah, stakeholders and media, Woodson argued that the elections timetable violates the electoral code.
“The LFA electoral code provided 30 days for the process of application, registration and nominations. Kindly note that the extension up to March 23, 2018, is 15 calendar days, including holidays and Sundays, excluding holidays and Sundays makes it 11 days for this process.
Musa Shannon, former LFA VP
“Again, please note that the mandate of this executive committee ends on March 26, 2018, in accordance with article 45.2. Therefore, after this date, any further functions of this executive committee become illegal and un-statutory.
“Let’s us respect the organic law of this association so we can avoid future violations which others will use as precedence with what this executive committee intends to set.
“Again, we are protesting the conduct of these elections based on the gross violations of the statutes and electoral code. We will also want the Fifa audit report to be published before any election is conducted.”
From the elections committee to the Independent Board of arbitration (IBA) and from Caf to Fifa, Woodson didn’t get the needed redress until she lodged a formal complaint at CAS.
But ex-LFA vice president Musa Shannon, ex-LFA executive committee member Ansu Dulleh and ex-LFA security committee co-chairman Victor Gboyah bizarrely supported Woodson’s case on the Weekend Sports on Farbric 101.1FM on July 14.
Shannon, a former Liberia international, was a “loyal vice president” for eight years to outgoing LFA President Musa Bility.
He got 13 votes in the presidential election and was set for a run-off with LISCR FC President Mustapha Raji, who got 16 votes, when defeated candidate George Solo’s (with five votes) writ of prohibition was served on the elections.
Shannon has never been an admirer of Woodson and even branded her a confusionist and the “most controversial person he has ever worked with”.
He may have been right because Woodson, in her March 22 complaint to the IBA, accused Shannon of conflict of interest (having access to the account where applicants were making deposits) and statutory violations.
But Shannon responded that Woodson’s allegations have no bearing because she was an active participant in the February 27 executive committee meeting when the rules of engagement for the elections were drawn-up.
Strangely, Shannon wants the processes leading to a re-run of the presidential election to be halted until Woodson’s case is adjudicated at CAS.
“We need to put a hold on the election and await the ruling. Rochelle’s case borders on statutory violations of the just ended elections. CAS may uphold the results or may nullify it.
“So why are we in a rush to hold the elections when the LFA has not paid the three presidential candidates their US$2,500 registration fees as was mandated by Fifa? This is a compliance issue and we shouldn’t ignore it,” warned Shannon.
In a follow-up inquiry about his dramatic support, Shannon advised the LFA to hire a lawyer.
“Whether I like it or not, Rochelle’s case at CAS is going to be heard. The ruling may affect the current situation at LFA. To avoid further legal consequences, it might [will] be wise for the LFA to hire a lawyer to represent its interest at CAS,” Shannon said in a text message on July 15.
Shannon, in an April 18 letter to Fifa secretary-general Fatma Samoura, accused the George Weah-led government, including Deputy Sports Minister Andy Quamie and the House of Representatives, of meddling in the elections by telling delegates to vote for a favored candidate.
While awaiting a response from Fifa and an adjudication of Solo’s prohibition at the Civil Law Court, CAS branded Bility, Shannon and the then executive committee as “former LFA officials” in an April 24 letter of procedure from managing counsel Brent J. Nowicki.
Neither Bility nor Shannon, whose tenures ended, accepted the nomenclature because the World Cup in Russia, which France won, was fast approaching and the zest to be there was very high.
Shannon and Dulleh only accepted to be called former officials in June when Samoura communicated the outcome/roadmap of the three-man assessment mission in May.
Ffia recognized Prof. Sekou Konneh and Wilmot Smith as vice presidents for administration and operations respectively while Beatrice M. Kpoto, Quiwu Perci Yeke, Paywala Janyan, Henry B. Flomo, Cllr. Joseph M. Kollie, Judee Seton, Nyemah Nyanway, Kerlie Miller, Alvin Brown and Bayor Pags as executive committee members.
A month later, Shannon, Dulleh and Gboyah are now seeing all the violations, which were raised by Woodson three months ago.
But it was Shannon, who nominated Bishop George Harris, senior pastor of Philadelphia Church in Congo Town, to the electoral committee although Harris has never been a member of the LFA.
Article three, section three of the electoral code says “the members of the electoral committee shall be bona fide members of the LFA”.
Chapter 12, article 18 of the 2017 revised LFA statutes defines members as “[officials of] clubs in the first, second and female divisions; Liberia National Old-timers, coaches, referees, banker sports and beach soccer Associations; sub-associations of the 15 counties and academicals (Varsity and ISSA)”.
During an executive committee meeting before the extraordinary congress, which was also attended by Dulleh on February 24, Konneh quizzed Shannon about Harris’ legitimacy.
In his response, Shannon said Harris is a renowned man of God, who will not cheat.
And in a bizarre follow-up, Konneh asked whether Shannon would allow him to nominate a renowned Muslim cleric, who will also not cheat.
Well, Harris didn’t participate in the electoral process because he wasn’t formally informed about his selection and was convinced that he didn’t meet the eligibility requirements after I emailed him the electoral code and statutes on March 13.
Article four, section one of the electoral code also mandates congress to elect three members and three substitute members to serve on the electoral committee and three members and two substitute members to the elections appeals committee respectively but the five substitute members were not elected.
Where were Shannon, Dulleh and Gboyah when Atty. Saifuah Mai Gray, chairperson and Cllr. Arthur Johnson served the electoral committee as a result of Harris’ boycott?
Why didn’t they call for the induction of the ethics committee? The false ‘Hebrew brothers’ were aware of the scandals that would have marred the elections and barred several persons from contesting, including Shannon, who admitted to having received US$1,500 from the US$50,000 Fifa sent to Liberia in February 2015 to help eradicate Ebola.
Weren’t they also aware that the electoral code was violated when Bility selected Cllr. Johnson and Cllr. Swahilo Hadji Sesay as co-chairmen of the electoral and elections appeal committees respectively because they are his retention lawyers?
Their selection also violates chapter 19 (conflict of interest) of the 2012 Fifa code of ethics, which prohibits Bility from appointing his “family, relatives, friends and acquaintances”.
Well, Cllrs. Johnson and Sesay represented the LFA in Solo’s case, having signed a US$15,000 retention contract.
Where were they when Bility told a March 23 news conference that Cllr. Johnson is a board member of his club, ELWA United?
That was not only a pathological lie but also a show of sheer arrogance in justifying the willful violation of the laws in officialdom.
Shannon, Dulleh and Gboyah attended an ordinary congress at the PA’s Rib house in Airfield on December 27, 2016 that comprehensively amended the 2013 statutes following a LISCR FC proposal, which was backed by more than 20 stakeholders.
The rights of chairmen of sub-associations to vote was removed and elections were opened to former and current players, referees, coaches and administrators, who have played an active role in football “for two of the last five years before been proposed as a candidate by five members and with at least a high school diploma”.
But Shannon and Dulleh attended an executive committee meeting where the statutes were re-amended from high school diploma to bachelor degree.
This is one of the points in Woodson’s case because it is only congress (the supreme and legislative body) that can amend the statutes.
Shannon earlier teamed-up with Solo to protest Raji’s candidacy (lack of bachelor degree) in a hilariously foolish attempt to protect the very laws they intentionally violated.
Why didn’t they also question the legitimacy of vice presidential candidate Adolphus Dolo, whom the LFA banned for two years and fined US$5,000 for forgery in September 2013 after a ruling from the grievance and disciplinary committee was upheld by the appeals committee?
Dolo’s candidacy violated chapter 21, article 45.4 of the LFA statutes which prohibits candidates, who have been found guilty of a “criminal offense” from contesting.
I spoke to the contestants, including Shannon, Dulleh and Gboyah about the many violations, but they said the process should go on and the results will be accepted.
Infact, Bility, Shannon, Smith and Konneh repeatedly assured me that the ballot box will be visible unlike in 2014 when it was kept in a dark room and voters were given five minutes to cast their ballots at the fair ground in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
Is the LFA just too sweet to leave that the losers have not yet accepted their defeat?
I don’t think a re-run of the elections 10 times will make any significant difference because the stakeholders made a conscientious decision after eight years because Bility admitted that his leadership failed football development.