Cricket crisis still not resolved

By Tichaona Sibanda
08 December 2005

Former cricket captain Tatenda Taibu and Phil Simmons, the deposed coach who claimed in court that his dismissal was unconstitutional, could be reinstated if attempts to overthrow Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute, the chairman and managing director respectively of Zimbabwe Cricket, are successful.

Chingoka and Bvute were released from police custody without charge in Harare on Wednesday, 36 hours after being arrested under the Exchange Control Act. Justice Ahmed Ebrahim, the vice-chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, is pressing ahead with plans aimed at removing them both and launching an immediate forensic audit of the accounts.

It is the latest move in a deepening crisis that has forced Taibu to re-launch his career in Bangladesh after death threats. Two other players, Vusi Sibanda and Waddington Mwayenga, were also arrested on charges relating to violation of foreign exchange laws, with a further six lined up for questioning, and staff have been left in fear of losing their jobs.

Cricket analyst Elvis Sembezeya said the arrest of Sibanda and Mwayenga left all the Zimbabwe players dumbfounded, as they believed the two had done nothing wrong.

‘These are young players who were told to open foreign accounts. So who is to blame, the players or the officials who were depositing money into their accounts,’ asked Sembezeya.

Taibu and the other players have said that they will not play for Zimbabwe as long as Chingoka and Bvute remain in office, while the ICC says that it cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a member country.