Fam chairs purchase sparks law suit
A legal battle has ensued between sports analyst Mathews Kim Kamau and FAM director of finance Christopher Mdolo in which the latter is demanding damages over a statement that he included personal goods when procuring chairs for the association from China.
The Lilongwe-based analyst posted the comments on a Voice of Livingstonia (VoL) Sports WhatsApp group on February 13.
In the post, Kamau alleged that Mdolo ordered personal goods and included them in the container which had the chairs and the association paid $20 000 (about K15 million) for it.
Mdolo has since instructed his lawyer Patrick Mpaka of Hestone & Company to take legal action against Kamau if he does not make a public apology and pays damages, however, the analyst says he has evidence to back his statement.
“We have instructions from Mr Christopher Mdolo [our client] to demand which we hereby do, your immediate retraction and apology and payment of agreed damages to him in relation to the false malicious statement which you have made concerning him.
“On 13th February around 18:24 on WhatsApp group VoL Sports and using mobile telephone number +265999284016 you posted to the general membership of that group the following words and information concerning our client: ‘container yomwe inabwera ndikatunduwa FAM, Mdolo anayikamo katundu wake wakunyumba plus anawombolaposo $20 000.
“These remarks are unfounded and false in fact, yet the said statement signifies that our client is of dubious character and questionable integrity. The remarks have since been commented on and presumably shared by various members of VoL Sports given the screenshots that have reached our client.
“You made the remarks not minding the injury to our client’s well established reputation in accounting profession and as along-time director of finance at a publicly and internationally known institution as the Football Association of Malawi.”
Mdolo’s lawyers have since given Kamau three days to apologise and pay damages or face legal proceedings.
“We therefore, ask that you issue a public apology and retract the statement that you said against him and do so in a manner agreeable to our client and indicate the measure of compensation you are prepared to offer to make good the reputation damage you have occasioned.”
However, the sports analyst in his response to the lawyers, says he sticks by his statement and is prepared to face Mdolo in court.
“The allegations that is at hand, that I doubted a procurement transaction at Football Association of Malawi regarding ordered chairs from China, can be verified
I have instructed my lawyers to seek a court order to allow an independent audit on the procurement of the chairs from China, including all other materials that were in the said container to be used as evidence in court of law.
“The chairs in question are fixed assets, the audit team will compare the physical count against the delivered items and all other procurement processes. I will further request a personal audit of the financial status of Mr Christopher Mdolo to remove any doubt of unquestionable acquired accumulated wealth against his earnings.
“To this end, I will not retract anything from what was purportedly included in your submission as my consideration for retraction and apology.”
Commenting on the issue, soccer analyst George Chiusiwa said he wished the matter was sorted out of court.
“Much as Mr Mdolo has a right to seek legal action on the matter, I think the issue could have been settled in a better way.
“Yes, he has a right to protect his reputation, but in my opinion, the legal action is harsh.”
FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda was no available for comment as he was travelling to South Africa for Cosafa Annual General Meeting set for this afternoon.
