Defiant Nonkonyana faces Safa axe

Suspended SA Football Association vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana will be dismissed tomorrow.

The football controlling body will hold its annual general congress in Sandton tomorrow and The Times has learnt that Nonkonyana's imminent dismissal is on the agenda.

But Nonkonyana will not go away quietly, as it emerged yesterday that he was planning to go to court to stop the congress from taking place.

If that fails, he will seek an interdict to have the item on his dismissal removed from the agenda.

Tough-talking Safa executive committee member Xolile Komphela said Nonkonyana had no business going to court and should just accept his fate.

''Nonkonyana is out of order, let me start there," Komphela said.

''He was elected by a Safa congress and he cannot now try to stop the same congress that elected him from discussing him. More importantly, our issues cannot be taken to a court of law until we have exhausted all internal processes."

Fifa traditionally frowns upon football disputes going to the courts and Safa has decided Nonkonyana crossed the line by electing to keep going the legal route in the months during his suspension.

Nonkonyana could not be reached for comment yesterday. He also did not return messages left on his cellphone.

The controversial Eastern Cape-born official has been at loggerheads with his colleagues since he was elected vice-president in September last year. Infuriated Safa national executive committee members finally met a few days ago to decide his fate.

''His fate is sealed and it is now only a matter of ratifying the decision at the general congress," another Safa executive committee member said.

Nonkonyana faces accusations of disregarding the Safa communications policy after he told the media that then Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund should quit if the national team failed to reach the final of the African Nation Championships in January.

He was suspended a month later for the utterances and told not to comment in the media again.

In August, he defiantly called a press briefing in which he pleaded with Safa to take him back into the fold.

Safa's financial report will also be on the agenda.

CEO Dennis Mumble will report a R10-million profit after reversing the R46-million deficit from the previous financial year.