I won�t go back until they apologise � Zakhem
Staff Writer | Friday February 16, 2018 13:20
Talks over Zakhem’s return have heightened in recent days following the resignation of chairperson, Rapula Okaile this week. Zakhem was at the helm during GU’s purple patch, which saw them win a league title and two Mascom Top 8 titles between 2009 and 2015.
However, ownership wrangles began to eat into the team, and Zakhem opted out, which gave birth to current financial struggles.
There are pending court cases where a certain section of the club’s fans are challenging the legitimacy of the current committee, while in the other, Zakhem is being sued for defamation by previous office bearers.
And now Zakhem, who confesses his love for GU, says he can only return if the court cases are withdrawn and the applicants apologise. “No, I am not interested in going back. They have to apologise first and withdraw the court cases,” Zakhem said, when quizzed if he was interest in taking charge.
He said as a businessman, it is a waste of time to be in court over football matters.
“Instead I should be in court over business issues,” he said. Zakhem said people who volunteer to run football, should be able to sacrifice for the clubs and not “just enjoy being in front of cameras and get VIP seats”.
Meanwhile, Okaile’s resignation has left GU without representative at the Botswana Premier League (BPL) board. Okaile was chairperson and Police XI’s Solomon Mantswe is expected to hold fort in the interim.
There are reports that Jwaneng Galaxy chairperson, Njabulo Gilika is keen on taking over the chairperson’s position. The BPL is expected to hold an emergency meeting to elect a new chairperson.