Despite being banned for life from being a Board member, Sokhela and her supporters on the Comrades Board appear to be using a loophole to keep her active in the affairs and operations of the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA).
On Thursday 29 August, the Heritage and Traditions Committee met, apparently to deliberate and determine this year’s Spirit of Comrades award winners. Sokhela was previously part of the committee and was in attendance. It is unclear how members of the committee are chosen as Sokhela has never run Comrades and has only been involved with Comrades for a fairly short time.
The Heritage and Traditions Committee is chaired by Isaac Ngwenya and another of the compromised Board members, Celi Makhoba, is also part of the committee. It is understood that Ngwenya has the dominant say on the three Spirit of Comrades winners so it is unlikely that Ann Ashworth, who received a record number of nominations, will be an award winner.
READ MORE: Why Ashworth was Fired Part II: Cash and Carry On Regardless
After a racist WhatsApp sent by Sokhela surfaced, the “Vanillagate” scandal ensued. Sokhela refused to resign from the Board, despite several direct requests to do so from uncompromised Board members. Initially the Board did not suspend Sokhela saying that, “the Constitution of the CMA does not empower them to remove a board member.” However, a suspension was subsequently enacted after members pointed out the clause in the CMA constitution that allows for this.
READ MORE: Sign Up to the CMA Today or The Grim Racist could be your next Chairperson
At a Special General Meeting (SGM) called by members to address various distressing matters, Sokhela resigned after an attempt was made to remove the agenda item calling for her permanent removal failed. The majority of voting members raised their hands in favour of banning Sokhela for life from serving as a Board member.
Sokhela was the first ever CMA member to be suspended in the organisation’s 43-year history. It would therefore appear that Sokhela’s suspension has been lifted, allowing her to partake in CMA committees and portfolios. However, I received this information from an insider which muddies the water somewhat, “Sokhela’s suspension does not allow her to attend Board meetings. She was appointed to various Standing Committees by the Board and it is not a requirement that you have to be a Board member. There are many members of Comrades on these Standing committees who are not Board members.”
The author also received a Letter of Suspension on 12 August via email. However, according to the CMA constitution, suspension letters must be delivered by hand or registered mail. After correspondence to the former CMA Chair Mqondisi Ngcobo and Vice Chair Les Burnard, by attorney Mark Leathers, a commitment was made to resolve the attempted suspension through a meeting as suggested by Leathers. However, the Chair and Vice would have had to first obtain Board approval and it is debatable whether they would have been able to achieve this. After their resignations, it is unclear whether the largely unelected interim Board will try to enforce the suspension.
According to well-placed sources, Sokhela is also the (cue the bells of irony) the chair of the Corporate Governance committee but (don’t put those ironic bells away yet) the Governance committee has only met on one occasion for a formal meeting.
In addition, Sokhela was on the Finance Committee which was chaired by former Vice Chair Les Burnard. Burnard confirmed that he would continue to serve on the Finance Committee after his resignation but not as chair so as not to negatively impact the end of year financial statements. Burnard, an accountant by trade, removed Sokhela from the Finance Committee circulation list and meeting invites when she was suspended.
Interim CMA Chair, Jeff Minnaar, has recently taken to media, committing to stabilizing the organisation after it has been rocked by bizarre decisions, well founded allegations of corruption, maladministration and incompetence, and the sudden resignation of four Board members. It is highly questionable whether having a discredited and banned individual still being actively involved in CMA business is in the best interests of stabilization and restoring trust with the running public.
Afterword
The set of questions below were sent to Minnaar and acting Race and Operations Manager, Alain Dalais, at 7pm on Thursday 29 August. Dalais contacted me on Friday afternoon to let me know that, “They are not ignoring me and would have a response ready by Monday.” I stated that I would be publishing on the weekend but would update the article if required once their response was received.
“Evening both,
I received a report that Zinhle Sokhela was seen sauntering around Comrades House to attend a Heritage sub committee meeting earlier today.
- Can you confirm she attended in an official capacity?
- Is she still part of any other CMA committees, sub committees or portfolios?
- Prior to the SGM she was suspended – has this suspension as a CMA member now been lifted?
- Are there criteria for sitting on the Heritage committee? – it seems strange that someone who has never run the race would be selected for this committee.
- Is there not a concern that a discredited individual who was voted out by the CMA members at the SGM is still actively involved in the CMA organisation during this period when you are trying to stabilize matters?
I am considering publishing an article on this tomorrow morning so would appreciate a prompt response. I am happy to take answers in batches if some require more consultation.
Regards,
Stuart”
READ MORE: Has the Comrades Marathon been Captured (and why Ann Ashworth was fired)
Header photo courtesy of Comrades Marathon Association
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I find it amazing that a discredited and banned member of the Comrades organisation still has the brass face to show herself at Comrades House. You couldn’t make it up could you? It would seem that she has sought some very expensive legal advice, and would she succeed in making a successful come back, there could just be a financial incentive in if for her.