BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
BULAWAYO – A former mayor of Zimbabwe’s second largest city and ex-deputy president of the country’s football federation has been remanded out of custody by a court in Bulawayo on Friday after appearing before it on charges of fraudulently obtaining senior school grades.
Gift Banda, who is said to be a self-made magnate and a high-flying socialite, is also a combative opposition politician who was once a short-lived mayor of his hometown Bulawayo, in addition to being a vice-president of the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) and one time the federation’s acting head.
A former Member of Parliament in Bulawayo, Banda was arrested in the city on Thursday on accusations of acquiring fake ‘O’ Level qualifications in an apparent bid for another spell at Zifa as one of its vice-presidents.
Zifa two months ago ruled that only people with five ‘O’ Level passes and above can contest for a position at the top of the association’s hierarchy. Elections are scheduled for 25 January and it will be the first time in over two years that Zifa will be governed by a substantive executive.
Zimbabwe was readmitted into international football by world governing body Fifa in July 2023 following a 17-month suspension. Since then, Zifa has been run by a Fifa-appointed interim committee.
Banda, who once owned a club in Zimbabwe’s top-flight league,will return to court on 27 December. He is accused of conniving with one Anele Zikhali and the headmistress of his alma mater, Mpopoma High School, to produce a certificate that indicates that he passed his ‘O’ Levels with flying colours back in 1986. He denied being directly involved in the forgery when he appeared before a magistrate on Friday. He was remanded after paying US$500 bail.
