Isaac Ngwenya Archives - The Running Mann

23rd September 202423rd September 2024

Cyber Bully to you CMA (and the sad state of journalism)

If a politician were to claim that an election was rigged at a press conference, you would expect them to provide some proof. Should the politician continue along this line of rhetoric but fail to provide any proof they should be treated with disdain, derision and scorn by the media.

Our professionals in the media are no doubt familiar with the law of propaganda attributed to Nazi Joseph Goebbels (although it’s unlikely he ever actually said), “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”.

At a press conference called by the interim Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) Board on 26 August, interim CMA Chairman Jeff Minnaar used the term ‘cyber bullying’ repeatedly and began proceedings by reading a press release entitled, “Comrades Marathon addresses cyber bullying and harassment.”

31st August 202431st August 2024

Zinhle Sokhela still sauntering around Comrades House after ban

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.

28th August 202429th August 2024

Interim CMA Board says “No” to Transparency at Bizarre Press Conference

Perceptions that those in Comrades House live in a parallel universe will only be exacerbated after a rather bizarre press conference held on Monday morning. Apparently, the intention was to reinstill confidence in a severely compromised CMA Board rocked by a number of dismissals and resignations. However, instead of ‘steadying the ship’ most viewers left concluding that the CMA is now far further up the creek without a paddle.

20th August 202420th August 2024

Comrades Capture: Season One Epilogue

This is a reflection on the series “Comrades Capture” articles and results from the Special General Meeting (SGM) held on 15 August 2024.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the meeting as I was facilitating an offsite for work in the Magaliesburg. However, I was able to attend vicariously through WhatsApp messages from various attendees. The extremely positive results received from the SGM did mean that I added one to two celebratory whiskies to my regular intake of beer that night (but, even so, I woke up on Friday with the clearest head I’ve had in several weeks).

One photo, four Comrades champions: Bruce Fordyce, Shaun Meiklejohn, Gift Kelehe and Cheryl Winn (photo from Facebook).

10th August 202410th August 2024

Why Ashworth was Fired Part II: Cash and Carry On Regardless

This is a part of a series of articles on how Comrades was captured and why Ann Ashworth was fired. Despite support from the Chair, Vice Chair and Tier 1 sponsors, Ashworth’s contract extension was rejected at a Board meeting in June and her contract was ‘terminated with immediate effect.’ Ashworth believes that there were three main reasons leading to the Board firing her, this is the second.

It appears to be an open secret that Board votes are “bussed-in and bought” at the AGM. Prior to the November 2023 AGM, Ashworth was warned by a staff member that she was about to be “educated”.

9th August 202410th August 2024

Why Ashworth was Fired Part I: Kleptomania at Comrades House

After noticing that Board member Isaac Ngwenya would leave functions and events carrying armloads of beverages (sometimes even making return trips to his car) and that the Comrades House bar fridges were having to be restocked far more frequently than “reasonable usage” would dictate, Ann Ashworth (Comrades Race and Operations Manager), requested permission to put locks on the fridges.

7th August 20247th August 2024

How They Captured Comrades

Board members are elected by votes cast at the AGM. All Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) members in good standing are allowed to attend and vote for Board members at the AGM. The annual membership fee in 2023 was R50. This was raised to R100 in 2024 along with the updated eligibility requirement on the Comrades website to be, “either a Comrades Runner or Comrades Volunteer before applying for CMA membership”.

The official reason for doubling the CMA Membership fee was ‘to cover increased administration costs and member benefits’ but unofficially it is also understood to be an apparent attempt to make the buying of AGM votes more difficult. In 2023 it cost an estimated R6500 to capture Comrades (130 CMA memberships x R50). If the same game plan is followed in 2024, the cost is R13000 – still a bargain for the unscrupulous to extend their malevolent influence on the largest and richest ultra marathon in the world.