The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) will directly oversee the Simba SC election, Mwananchi reported on Sunday. The federation's election committee made the decision after receiving complaints about how the club's board organised the vote. The committee said it wants the process to follow the club's constitution, rules and procedures.
Committee chairman Kiomoni Kiburu Kibamba, a lawyer, said two letters reached the committee through the office of the TFF General Secretary. One announced the start of Simba's election process. The other complained about the procedure used by the board of directors of Simba Sports Club Company.
The committee then held talks with both sides. Crescentius Magori represented the investor side, while Murtaza Mangungu represented the members. Kibamba said leaders on both the members' and the investor sides must be elected before their term expires on January 29, 2027. The current leaders were elected on January 29, 2023, for four years.
"Rain or shine, the election must take place," Kibamba said, according to Mwananchi.
He said the committee found two gaps in the timetable issued by the board's election committee. It had no appeals process for candidates unhappy with vetting decisions. It also left out ethics matters, which he called a key part of the process. TFF needed two or three days to fix the timetable before announcing a revised calendar. Collection of nomination forms was set to begin on Friday at Simba's offices.
Kibamba said TFF's power comes from Rule 14 of the Simba Sports Club Election Rules of 2021. The rule lets the federation step into a club election at any time to check its integrity. It also allows TFF to cancel the process if it finds violations. However, he stressed that the Simba election has not been annulled. It will go ahead under TFF supervision, with the federation working alongside club management.
The Citizen reported that a January 3 poll remains on course.