Bright testifies in Makgalemele's lawsuit

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Tuesday June 28, 2011 00:00

 

Major Bright said that the former BFA chief, who at the time was the head of delegation at the Asian tournament, told him that the receipt would be channelled to BFA through the Chinese Football Federation.

'I was surprised by the development and asked Makgalemele for the receipt but he (Makgalemele) told me that the receipt would be produced at a later stage by the Chinese FA through BFA,' Bright said.

He said prior to leaving for the Asian tournament in China, they had no knowledge that the US$50,000 first prize would be taxed.  Bright was testifying in a case in which Makgalemele is suing Yarona FM and Macdonald 'Chiliboy' Rakgare for defamation following a broadcast in 2008 alleging that he was bribed in China where he had gone with the Under-23 football team for a tournament.

The team lost only one game and won the tournament contested by hosts, China, Japan and South Korea.

Makgalemele is demanding over P2 million in damages. Bright told court that he had never seen the receipts and when shown one in court, Bright said it was the first time he came across such a receipt.

He further told court that the arrangement was such that should they (Under-23) win the tournament, they would get to share 60 percent of the prize money.

He added that indeed the delegation shared the 60 percent of US$50,000 any other amount. He said that while in China, Makgalemele told them that he was approached by some people trying to persuade them to throw away the Japanese game. He said the offer was around US$200,000 for the whole delegation and US$20,000 for Makgalemele.

'I was the first to stand up and dismiss the offer. I stated that we would not throw away the game because we wanted to represent the country well,' Bright added. He also said the players were then informed to guard against people trying to bribe them, stressing that it was a dangerous thing to do.

On the other hand, Makgalemele's attorney Dineo Makati-Mpho put it to Bright that Makgalemele produced a receipt while in China to the effect that money would be taxed and the total would come to US$40,000. Bright in response said Makgalemele never convened a meeting to show the receipts in his presence.

At the end of   Bright's testimony, the defendants closed their case and the court ordered that Makgalemele and his attorney should file their written submissions by July 29, while Rakgare's team by August 29. The court is yet to set a date for judgement. Bright is currently the head coach at South African outfit Bay United while Makgalemele is Shoshong Member of Parliament (MP). John Carr-Hartley represents Yarona FM and Rakgare while Makati-Mpho represents Makgalemele.