MBABANE – The failure of the EFA and the PLE to comply with a court order means that the Mbabane Swallows ownership matter remains unresolved after three attempts.
High Court Judge Zonke Magagula ruled yesterday that the EFA and the PLE had either not complied or only partially complied with his previous order.
The judge gave the bodies another chance to act in accordance with the directive.
The PLE is the second respondent, while the EFA is the third respondent in the case.
This matter was first heard on Friday, October 3, where the court granted an interim relief in the case brought before it by one of the capital city giant’s factions, Mbabane Swallows FC (Pty) Ltd. The applicants were seeking an order to stop the team’s fixtures and gain control of the club, among other prayers.
Judge Magagula ruled against stopping the team’s activities and ordered that the current faction, Mbabane Swallows Football Club, which runs the club as an association, must carry on until the matter reaches its finality.
The case returned to court last week Wednesday, where Magagula again ruled that he would not interdict the PLE from involving the ‘Birds’ in football activities and would not treat the matter as urgent.
He then directed the (Pty) Ltd and FC factions to argue the ownership of the red-and-white outfit. After almost three hours of arguments between the first applicant’s representative, Mduduzi Hlophe, and the first respondent, Absalom Ngwenya, represented by Thabiso ‘Mpompoli’ Fakudze, the court ruled that it could not determine the matter.
Magagula stated that the court had to conduct a fact-finding exercise on the ongoing concern of the parties, hence ordering the PLE and the EFA to submit Umkhonto KaShaka’s ownership documents dating from 2016 to 2023.
Judge Magagula also expressed concern over the EFA and PLE’s non-participation in the matter. He said their cooperation in submitting the required documents would help the court easily put the matter to rest, noting that they could have urgently resolved the issue within their football administration duties.
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