Kamanga attributes fraud allegations to FAZ politics
Kamanga attributes fraud allegations to FAZ politics
FOOTBALL Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Andrew Kamanga has attributed the money laundering charges leveled against him by the Drug Enforcement Commission to FAZ politics.
Speaking when he featured on Prime TV’s The Big Hour programme last night Kamanga said some individuals are merely using misinformation as means of campaign ahead of the forth coming FAZ elections early next year.
Yesterday, the Drug Enforcement Commission arrested Andrew Kamanga, FAZ general secretary Rueben Kamanga and two other individuals identified as Madalitso Kamanga and Jairous Siame on money fraud charges amounting to k341, 902 and an additional k99,980 worth of air tickets.
According to DEC’s investigations it was revealed that Kamanga and FAZ general secretary Reuben, obtained k341, 902 from government as allowances for Madalitso and Siame to attend the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) in Ivory coast.
Additionally, the duo, Madalitso and Siame obtained return air tickets to Zambia amounting to k99,980.
It was however determined that the duo was not entitled to any funding in the nature of allowances as they do not hold any official or executive seat in FAZ culminating into the charges of money laundering against the FAZ officials and the two other men.
But in his defense, Kamanga expressed ignorance on the charges citing that in his eight years at FAZ, it was his first time witnessing such an occurrence.
He claimed that Madalisto Kamanga and Jairous Siame are part and parcel of FAZ as they have been rendering various services in light of both local and international games for a long time.
“In the last eight years that I have been in FAZ, it was the first time that I got such a query.,”
“We have never been given guidance that advance parties should only be for FAZ staff and ex-committee members and we did qualify that with ministry but most importantly for us these two officials are part and parcel of FAZ,” Kamanga said.
“For Madalitso, we share the same surname people have claimed we are related of course we are not related by blood but he has been with power dynamos for many years performing security duties for FAZ and Jairous is an official with the National Assembly,” Kamanga explained.
“Even in our constitution it is defined that someone who is working with a club, and are given an assignment, they are part and parcel of FAZ.”
Kamaga further said that FAZ considered the duo as part of the association’s standing committees, citing team doctors as his examples.
“Outside the executive, outside the members of staff, we also have standing committees such as team doctors who are not FAZ employees so unless someone says even those team doctors when they are paid by government is money fraud, then they shouldn’t be paid.” he elaborated.
Kamanga attributed the misinformation as means to de-campaign him ahead of the FAZ elections.
“So the long and short end of (the story) is that this is early campaign season, we have elections early next year and anything that can be thrown up is a good story for campaign,” added