Leo smears juju claims on Epac
Epac FC coach Leo Mpulula has claimed that the TNM Super League team is doing anything to prevent him from resuming his duties due to his stand against the use of juju (charms).
Mpulula’s assertion follows the Lilongwe-based outfit’s decision to give him an indefinite suspension without pay on Tuesday for not reporting for duty after he was declared fit to return to work on September 17 following an illness.
Mpulula, who last coached the team at the end of May, has a season-long contract with Epac until February 2016.
“They fear me because I am a man of God; I do not believe in juju for my team to win games. They have been pushing me to use charms but I always give them a cold shoulder. I told them in the face that I did not make my name through juju. This is the reason they do not
Suspended for absconding work want me to reclaim my duties probably until the expiry of my contract,” he said.
“But I am a fighter; I will not let them tarnish my good reputation. If indeed I was deliberately absent from work, why were they paying me my full salary? These people are just trying to play hide-and-seek on the real reason behind my suspension. The fact is that I always refuse to abide by their devilishbeliefs. ”
Mpulula, who has not received his salary for October, claimed he insists on continuing his coaching job at Epac because “there is no clause for juju beliefs inmy contract and that the team has no mandate to suspend me but terminate my contract.”
Nevertheless, Epac FC chairperson Trickson Chiutsi told The Nation on Wednesday that Mpulula’s assertions are nothing but the last kicks of a dying horse.
“Mpulula has a right to say whatever he likes and we cannot stop him from making any claim against our team. But he has been coaching the team until he went for a sick leave, does that mean he was tolerating the juju practice all along? His claims are unfounded,” said Chiutsi.
In spite of that, Chiutsi claimed they had to reach a point of suspending the coach after noting “his continued habit of making a lot of noise towards end of the month and appearing at the club on payday before going back into oblivion.”
“We had to send him back recently because we knew he only came to collect his salary. We will meet soon as an executive to set dates for a disciplinary hearing. But I cannot say the exact date for that meeting,” Chiutsi said.
