Johannesburg – James Evans has filed papers to overturn a decision by Sascoc that led to his suspension as Athletics SA (ASA) president and put the federation under administration.
He did so in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court in Cape Town on Tuesday. He claimed Sascoc failed to comply with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act when he was not given the right of reply before he was suspended.
“Prior to taking the decision, I was not asked for comment nor given the opportunity to make representations,” Evans wrote in an affidavit.
“In fact, I was not aware that the matter was even being considered.”
The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) suspended Evans and the entire ASA board in April for infringing the provisions of the Olympic body's constitution, and appointed Zola Majavu as administrator.
ASA had already suspended more than half its board before Sascoc's intervention, after Evans obtained an urgent interdict in the High Court in Pretoria, preventing board members from taking any further action in their attempt to remove him from his post.
This followed Evans's impeachment at an ASA special general meeting in March. He believed it had been called without board members following correct constitutional procedures.
Evans said Sascoc's decision to suspend him and his fellow board members was “procedurally unfair”, as they did not comply with the procedures in the act.
He said the Olympic body had no power in terms of the Companies Act to suspend a director of another company.
In a statement of Friday Evans refuted statements made by Majavu at a media briefing the previous day, as well as other comments he made in the press.
“During those press conferences he has made repeated claims and allegations against me and various other board members of Athletics South Africa,” Evans said in the statement.
On Thursday, Majavu linked Evans's court application in Cape Town to that in the High Court in Pretoria.
“It is exactly the same thing if you look at the challenge in Cape Town. It is pretty much the same thing in Pretoria,” Majavu said on Thursday.
“The genesis of all that starts with his impeachment, so Sascoc would not have intervened had there not been the impeachment.
“He then challenges Sascoc's intervention, which resulted in me being appointed, and now the issues that he wants resolved should have resolved through arbitration.”
Evans lost the case in the High Court in Pretoria, with costs. It was revealed last week that he would appeal.
“The truth is that the court case before the Gauteng North High Court related to an urgent interdict to prevent Hendrick Ramaala calling a board meeting in my absence,” Evans said.
Majavu said nobody claimed arbitration should not be held, but he maintained that ASA would not pay the costs. – Sapa