In the corridor outside the Imbizo room at the Garden Court Hotel in Isando on Saturday, a tall woman who had once stood on podiums wearing the national colours of her country was in the mood to play the fool and be mischievous
“Hey! I’m the president! Come speak to me,” she giggled to the journalists.
But Geraldine Pillay, winner of a silver and bronze at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, had won nothing at the Athletics South Africa elections held on Saturday. James Evans had been named as the president, winning 25 of the 54 votes and beating off nine candidates. Motlatsi Keikabile took 26 votes to become the vice-president.
Pillay had withdrawn her name after being nominated for vice-president of ASA, saying she did not have enough experience to take such a pressured and intense position. Perhaps, she said as we stood in the sun on the lawns of the hotel, in a few years when she had more experience.
As Pillay said those words, most of the other delegates from the different organisations and provinces were gathered in groups, talking at a furious rate, some with much pointing of fingers, others with resigned shrugs of shoulders as they politicked for all they were worth.
At the centre of one of these groups was KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) president Aleck Skhosana, who was under a cloud after allegations that money had disappeared from the association. He was a candidate for president, although there were many in his province against him standing. Some felt he was a real threat, others worried he might be close to Leonard Chuene. The rumours flew thick and feisty. The Hawks were allegedly investigating KZNA.
Dressed in a dark jacket, Skhosana was easy top spot as he commanded the conversation in a group of around 10 delegates. There was a lot of nodding of heads in that group.
These were the first ASA elections since the suspension and subsequent banning of Chuene for crimes that included sacrificing Caster Semenya’s reputation, lying, and being fast and frivolous with ASA’s money.
Conclusion
For the first time in years they were not bowed down in fear of what might happen if they did not vote Chuene back into power. For the first time in ages the outcome of the ASA elections was not a foregone conclusion, and it had thrown many of the delegates.
There were some who had been loyal to Chuene. It was suspected by some that Chuene was biding his time and, despite being banned for seven years, had been gathering his forces and allies to ensure they kept power and might engineer a way for him to get back into the sport.
A smear campaign was started against Evans and the race card was played. He was white, how could he be in charge of a largely black sport? He was still white when I saw him on Saturday afternoon.
A story was spread – by a journalist, according to former Runners World deputy editor Sean Falconer – that Evans, who had been acting as ASA chairman before Saturday, was leasing his own electronic time-keeping apparatus to ASA “and therefore benefiting financially by abusing his position”.
The story fell flat when it was revealed that ASA and its affiliates owned the equipment and Evans was one of the few who had been trained to use it.
The ASA meeting was due to start at 10am on Saturday. It only began around 10.20am as the delegates were dragged from the hotel breakfast room and their huddled groups around the hotel. Last-minute votes were being bartered and alliances formed.
Once the meeting started so did the objections. Points of order were raised about the eligibility of some candidates. These were debated at length. The ASA constitution has loopholes that would make a lawyer rub his hands in glee.
The issues sorted out, some delegates asked for a break before the voting. Why, they were asked. They ummed and aahed, and then admitted it was so they could “caucus”. There was an objection from one of those who had endured objection after objection.
A vote on whether a break should be held was called for. Yes. A vote. On whether they should have a break. This is how daft things get in sports administration.
A slim majority voted to carry on and the vote was held without further bartering. An insider said that while many of the officials who were canvassing hard were vocal outside, inside the imbizo they were as quiet as church mice.
A goodly sized group of journalists stood outside waiting to hear the result, the curtains of the room drawn so we could not look in. A kindly ASA official stood with his back to the door and when the result of the presidential election was official, flashed a piece of paper with the words “James Evans” written on it. Cue furious tweeting. A few minutes later they showed us “Motlatsi Keikabile”. The decisions had been made.
It felt like the right decision. Evans comes across as a decent and honourable man. He is open and honest with the media, some might say too honest, but he is a grassroots athletics man, who competed and is a coach. It was hard to get a straight answer out of Chuene and his chief executive, Banele Sindani.
On Saturday Evans was brutally honest about the state of ASA. First, it needed stability. Then it needed structure. Accelerate Sport South Africa, the company tasked with bringing in money to the sport, had told ASA that sponsors had been frightened off by the instability in the last few years. Chuene’s regime had left a sad legacy.
Can that be turned around? Evans believes so. He will have to deal with some entrenched beliefs and others ready to derail him for their own ends. One delegate was heard complaining loudly afterwards about the result, saying that “We have had 300 years of this! We will not stand for it again.” It was a clear reference to having a white man in charge of ASA and 300 years of colonial oppression. Those are strange words from a man who happily allowed athletics to be oppressed and subjugated to the tyranny of Chuene for over a decade, but for some the truth is a fast and frivolous thing.
“What was good about the elections was that everyone was able to talk if they wanted to,” said Evans. “In the past that would not have happened. They would have been too intimidated to. It’s a really good thing for the sport. Democracy is back.”
For Pillay, the end of the debates, voting and politicking on Saturday brought a squeal of joy from the 33-year-old: “Free! Freedom at last!” she joked as she walked out into the sun after the voting had finally been completed.
For ASA, freedom from tyranny may have finally come at last. This may be its time in the sun.