Boxing South Africa (Boxing SA) is under the cloud following the suspension of chief financial officer (CFO) Thabang Moses this week, but strangely there is deafening silence from the regulator.
Moses, from the Free State, is linked with the alleged use of a credit card allegedly belonging to promoter Tshele Kometsi of TK Boxing Promotions.
Then there was a recorded voice note doing rounds implicating Moses and acting CEO Cindy Nkomo. The voice in the note is that of BSA Gauteng provincial manager Lehlohonolo Ramagole warning Kometsi that the people that he was dealing with in the office of BSA were careless.
It is understood that Moses sent a BSA driver to make a withdrawal for him and a sum of R14,000 was withdrawn. The money was apparently found lying loosely in Moses’s office – hence Ramagole’s warning to Kometsi on carelessness.
News of the alleged use of Kometsi’s bank card by BSA officials surfaced after the voice note was circulated in September last year where voices speaking in Sesotho were discussing the matter.
BSA board has instituted an investigation by an independent panel. “The matter is going through international processes. At an appropriate time we will issue a statement to clear the air,” said BSA acting CEO Nsikayezwe Sithole yesterday.
When approached for comment, Kometsi said: “I was interviewed twice – the first one in relation to the process that was followed internally by BSA to award a government tender. The second one was in relation to the bank card. I gave them all the answers.”
The tender Kometsi was referring to is that of about R1.3m which was issued by the Gauteng department of sports to honour fallen hero – WBA flyweight champ Peter “Terror” Mathebula. Moses is alleged to have played a role in making sure that everything favoured Kometsi.
Many promoters in Gauteng complained bitterly about the procedure. Kometsi staged the tournament in March in Mohlakeng, Randfontein, where Prince Dlomo dethroned Xolani Mcotheli as the SA junior welterweight champion by a points decision in the main contest.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Veteran Boxing Association will have a meeting at Mapedi Hall in Meadowlands, Soweto, on Sunday afternoon, secretary Lehlohonolo Nkatlo announced yesterday, adding that amateur boxing clubs in Soweto and whoever is interested in boxing is invited.
The meeting will begin at 1.30pm.
–sowetanlive.co.za
