The only thing that surprises me these days about South African athletics officials is that they continue to surprise me. The below video appears to be KZNA president Steve Mkasi in a street fight with a young Ama Ravens AC athlete and organiser of The Best of the Best Marathon, Sphephelo Ndlovu, on Saturday evening.
The fight apparently stems from Mkasi taking offense to the below comments made on this Facebook post https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Hd1DBMvDF/ sharing the article I wrote about Mkasi’s latest threat to cancel Comrades (Ndlovu subsequently deleted the comments).
READ MORE: Steve Mkasi keeps shooting blanks (KZNA’s latest threat to “Cancel Comrades”)
Mkasi is a controversial figure who has been well covered in various stories of maladministration and scandals on my blog. He also has a habit of threatening to “cancel Comrades”, doing as he pleases and flouting the KZNA constitution when it suits him. Mkasi has also previouslly been banned from the Two Oceans Marathon for letting another athlete run in his number.
According to commentary I received, Mkasi decided to put the Capital City Marathon which he organises on the weekend that the Ama Ravens’ popular and well organised Best of the Best Marathon is usually held.
READ MORE: Best of the Best Marathon (Surviving Shark country)
Apparently Mkasi became enraged when he saw Ndlovu’s comments on social media and decided to give the Ama Ravens athlete a phone call “out of the blue and after hours”. It is presumed he got the number by using his presidential privileges to access the KZNA license database. A voice recording of the call is below.
The translation of the call is as follows:
Sphephelo Ndlovu: I have no idea what you are talking about, Sir.
Steve Mkasi: Have you ever heard me say anything about [the] Best of the Best [Marathon]?
Sphephelo Ndlovu: We don’t like the way you talk sometimes.
Steve Mkasi: Have you ever been told that I have done anything? What have I done? What have I done?
Sphephelo Ndlovu: Nothing, but it’s your office. We know you as the leader.
Steve Mkasi: My brother, please don’t be cheeky (disrespectful) with me.
Sphephelo Ndlovu: Don’t threaten me, because if you say I am being cheeky with you, that’s a veiled threat.
Steve Mkasi: Don’t tell me I am threatening you. You can send me your location; I can come to you so that we can see who is threatening who between the two of us.
Sphephelo Ndlovu: I stay in Morningside. I can give you my location – it’s 85 Seventh Avenue.
Steve Mkasi: 85 Seventh Avenue?
Sphephelo Ndlovu: 85 Seventh Avenue, yes. You can call me. You can come over.
Steve Mkasi: Okay
Sphephelo Ndlovu: Sure, sure! Sharp!
Sometimes things get lost in translation. The shorter translation summary provided by my source was that Mkasi phoned up the athlete and said, “I don’t like what you are posting about me. Give me your address so that I can come around and f$ck you up.”
Mkasi, who is understood to be well liked and protected by acting ASA president John Mathane, appears to have become overconfident in his skills, abilities and position. Mkasi reportedly arrived at the Ama Ravens athlete’s house, was aggressive and instigated a fight. However, according to my source, Mkasi came off second best.
In the video that I was supplied, it definitely appears that the figure in the black shirt (who looks distinctly like Steve Mkasi) loses this amateur street fight and calls for mercy after being dominated by the younger Ama Ravens athlete in the striped navy blue tracksuit.
My source also told me that a charge of assault was laid against Steve Mkasi and that Mkasi is now negotiating a cash price to make the assault charges disappear. Mkasi has a habit of spending hundreds of thousands of rands of KZNA money on unwinnable court cases but appears to be more discerning in his own private legal battles.
I was also reliably informed that a group within KZNA leadership structures would be distancing itself from the decision to take the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) to court, which is largely viewed as Mkasi’s personal vendetta. The same group has also stated their intention to call a Special General Meeting to consider a vote of no confidence in Steve Mkasi as president. A senior member of Ama Ravens is understood to be within this group of KZNA dissidents but whether this is connected to Mkasi’s violent weekend rampage is unknown.
I sent the video and audio clips to an independent legal expert for comment. The verdict was daming, “The telephone call, coupled with the arrival and assault thereafter is massively damning.”
In any other sporting code or area of civil society, attacking an athlete for an innocuous remark on the internet would result in an immediate dismissal and a permanent removal from all leadership structures.
However, Steve Mkasi can sleep soundly at night knowing that within ASA almost anything goes. ASA’s acting CEO fraudulently used ASA letterheads to steal money meant for athletics development in the Northern Cape and a convicted rapist and former president of Athletics Free State, Steven Swarts, is still actively involved in coaching and given access to vulnerable persons in flagrant violation of safeguarding rules.
READ MORE: Get your coaching accreditation from a convicted rapist (brought to you by Athletics Free State)
Acting ASA president John Mathane has appeared very weak and compromised after replacing the suspended James Moloi. Whether Mathane will act against apparent blatant violence and abuse from one of his favourite provincial presidents or hide behind the usual euphemisms remains to be seen.
Update
Steve Mkasi has subsequently apologised and acknowledged wrongdoing on his Facebook profile for his premediated stalking and assault.
I hope he didn’t choke on his slice of humble pie.
Good day everyone from KZN Athletics and Running club’s
Ngithi mina aka re-sign as KZN President Mr Mkasi
I love how they both remembered to put on running shoes, in case they had to run away….great advert for Nike/ASICS