Suspension of the President of SAFA Tshwane Pending a Disciplinary Hearing

On March 1, 2024, President Solly Mohlabeng received a letter of suspension from SAFA, pending a hearing arising from his purported conduct at the SAFA Congress held on March 26, 2022, and taking his dispute to a court of law.

Solly Mohlabeng is being summoned to a disciplinary hearing that is scheduled to take place on March 11, 2024, at 10:00 at SAFA House.

He is being charged with the following offenses:

1. Charge 1: Bringing SAFA into disrepute by his purported unbecoming and disgraceful conduct at the Congress held on March 26, 2022 (failing to abide by the agenda, attempting to speak while standing and raising his hands, and blatantly defying the Chairperson and members of the Congress when he refused to sit down and wait for his turn to speak).
2. Charge 2: bringing SAFA, its officials, members of the association, and sponsors into disrepute by his purported unbecoming and disgraceful conduct at the Congress held on March 26, 2022. (His behavior has purportedly caused immense harm and damage to the officials and members of the association, its sponsors, and guests, which included the honorable Minister of Sports (Mr. Nathi Mthetwa), the President of SASCOC (Mr. Barry Hendricks), a representative of FIFA, and the SABC.
3. Charge 3: He violated the SAFA statutes by approaching the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, under case number 37446/2022, to settle his dispute with SAFA.
4. Charge 4: Not being mandated by the Tshwane region to request that his dispute be arbitrated, notwithstanding that the letter dated September 20, 2022, was sent to him and went unanswered

After reading the high court judgment, we knew that this was going to happen. And it is happening exactly as we anticipated. We even know the future steps toward the planned end of the president, including the planned removal from his presidency of SAFA Tshwane and, finally, the capture of SAFA Tshwane under the control of external forces. But he is well prepared and will fight until the end of the onslaught. This obvious abuse of power by SAFA will inadvertently open up more opportunities for fixing SAFA. This abuse will be exposed, pushed back against, and defeated.

All these charges are absurd. They deliberately miss the point by creating a specific narrative to aim to stifle other members of SAFA with fear, remove any dissenting views, and maintain autocracy through a false sense of order.

SAFA Is emboldened by the outcome of the high court. What they might not know is that the very same outcome is being appealed against. The process is underway. We do not believe that the President and former Vice President Ria Ledwaba erred in approaching the court. We believe they were led to do so by SAFA’s refusal to facilitate an arbitration. Be that as it may, the appeal is going ahead. We are confident that the high court ruling will be overturned and that it will not take much effort to do so.

President Mohlabeng will prepare well and attend the hearing on the 11th of March.