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LeBA in standstill

by Lesotho Times
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Mikia Kalati

BUSINESS is at a standstill at the Lesotho Boxing Association (LeBA) after president Moses Kopo said he would stand aloof until the executive decides whether or not it would call for a special conference demanded by some stakeholders.

Kopo this week said he has decided to watch from the side-lines when he was supposed to be preparing boxers for the 2020 Olympics. He also said he will leave if the stakeholders decide that they want him to go.

This follows calls by a clique of his critics for a special conference where they intend to pass a no confidence vote against him.

The letter was handed to LeBA in May this year.

“We the undersigned bonafide affiliates of LeBA implore you to convene a special general assembly per Article 28 thirty days after receipt this letter,” the letter stated.

“The first purpose of the assembly is to table a motion of no confidence against the president of the association on the basis that he has failed to uphold and maintain conduct and decorum of that office significantly in that.”

So tense is the situation at LeBA that some of the executives have allegedly written to the Lesotho Defence Force just to tarnish his name.

Although Kopo said the LeBA committee has exonerated him of any wrongdoing, operations have come to a standstill.

A top boxer in his hey days, Kopo told the Lesotho Times that he feels disrespected by allegations of maladministration since he took over as the president in March last year.

He said he has decided to stand aloof and wait for the LeBA executive decide whether or not they will call for the conference as demanded by some of the stakeholders.

“First of all, I am mandated by the clubs and there is no way that I can ignore their order if they feel they no long want me as their president,” Kopo said.

“I was head hunted by the same clubs who said they needed somebody to bring stability into the association. They said I was the one person who can bring them stability at the association.”

Kopo refuted the allegations made in the letter particularly that he falsified information on profiles of Thabo Molefe and Kokole Paneng at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. It was alleged in the letter that by so doing, he deceived the LNOC, AIBA and CGF and placed the entire Team Lesotho at a detrimental position of likely disqualification.

He also lamented that the allegations have damaged his reputation especially after the same complainants wrote to his employers at Lesotho Defence Force demanding the army to take action against him.

“I do not have any problem if the same people that called me to lead their association no longer want me in charge but what I hate is when people want to destroy my reputation based on lies.

“Most of these clubs are under the same people who are part of the executive and they said they are happy with me to continue as the president.

“But I have told them I will be on the side-lines until the matter has been cleared. At the moment, everything has been put on hold and it sad because this should be the time when our focus should be on the 2020 Olympics.

“We are not even half way with the plans that we had when we came into office in 2017. We have repaired relationships that were destroyed after the previous regime was voted out by the congress.

“We trained 18 coaches who are now qualified coaches and are recognised worldwide.”

Kopo emphasised that he would be happy to leave if the clubs decide they want him to go but also said he was worried about his reputation which has been tarnished.

“The bottom line is that I get my mandate from the clubs. If they tell me to go I will do so peacefully and in the same way if they want me to stay I will.

“What I hate is the malicious allegations made against me and people destroying my reputation especially when I was head hunted,” Kopo said.

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