The stand-off between Queens goal-shooter Mwawi Kumwenda and Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) is far from over.
In the latest episode, the player’s manager Hlupi Chalamba has given conditions for the player’s return to the Queens, who go into camp this Sunday to start preparations for test matches against England this month.
In a strongly-worded letter to NAM general secretary Carol Bapu, which we have seen, Chalamba wants the association to first explain the circumstances surrounding the player’s expulsion.
“Much as Mwawi is always excited to represent Malawi as her manager and legal adviser, I have advised her to wait until we have a better understanding of what transpired during the last call up which led to her expulsion from camp.
Chalamba said her concern was the manner in which NAM handled the incident by chasing the player out of camp without hearing her despite that she gave an explanation for reporting late for training which coach Sam Kanyenda duly accepted.
The letter reads in part: “Throughout these twists of events, Mwawi and myself have nonetheless respected your decision, and we remained optimistic that we would have a two-way discussion surrounding this issue. It is not currently clear whether the expulsion from the camp constituted a disciplinary action or Mwawi is yet to undergo formal disciplinary actio
In an interview yesterday, Chalamba confirmed requesting a meeting with NAM.
NAM officials were not available for comment.
But netball analyst Wesley Namasala advised NAM to accept the meeting request.
He said: “To effectively curb a problem, you deal with the cause and not symptoms. If you deal with symptoms it will keep on recurring. That is exactly what is happening with the NAM/Mwawi saga.
“NAM should graciously accept the invitation as proposed by Mwawi’s manager. It will be naive to pretend that all is well. You can only resolve that through a round table discussion.” n
