ZCU official acused of trying to influence elections

Ozais Bvute, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union board member who is no stranger to controversy, is again at the centre of a row after it was alleged that he offered Vumindaba Moyo a job within the ZCU so that Moyo would campaign for him in Matabeleland, where Bvute wanted to become chairman.

Bvute's sudden interest in provincial cricket politics is thought to have come about after it became clear that local associations had the power to dismiss the ZCU board. Another controversial member of the board - Max Ebrahim, who was previously chairman of the Mashonaland Cricket Association - went out of his way to became chairman of a little-known province called Masvingo, in what was seen by many as a bid to prevent him being usurped by those opposing the ZCU.

Bvute's aspirations in Matabeleland were not helped by the fact that he has almost no support there, hence the approach to the influential Moyo, a leading candidate to become chairman and an opponent of much the ZCU has done of late. In return for the job, the intention was that Moyo would influence the clubs to back Bvute. But a local source said that Moyo dismissed the approach, going so far as to tell the middle man to "go to hell".

This helps to explain the background to the chaos which surrounded the Matabeleland Cricket Association AGM held at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on June 26 when Bvute, accompanied by the Mashonaland Cricket Association chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani and general manager Givemore Makoni, effectively hijacked the meeting. Moyo and his supporters walked out, and even when they came back they refused to stand for any post on the board.

Sources claim that Bvute telephoned Moyo after the meeting and tried to distance himself from the job offer, but Moyo was left deeply unimpressed. Several administrators in Matabeleland have confirmed that Bvute did make a specific approach to try to influence Moyo. Attempts to contact Bvute for a comment were unsuccessful.

Recently, the ZCU constitution was amended to give provinces four slots on the board. The provincial chairmen of Matabeleland and Mashonaland automatically become ZCU board members, while the provinces also nominate two individuals to be on the board.

The ZCU holds a crucial AGM in Harare on Friday, August 6, and it is yet to be seen whether Bvute and Ebrahim, who are thought by many to be the key figures in instigating and fuelling the current crisis in which 15 rebel players refused to play for Zimbabwe, will still be on the board after the meeting.