Get your house in order, EP Rugby warned as Saru calls for emergency elections

SA Rugby has stepped in and advised the troubled EP Rugby Union (EPRU) to hold emergency elections within 21 days to end instability and infighting that has brought the union to its knees.

The advice comes after EP Rugby’s acting GM Sharon Brown appealed to SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer to intervene in the vicious feud between rival factions. Brown wrote a letter to EP’s executive committee members on Monday in which she said staff were feeling exposed and fearful of what was expected of them and she had spoken to Oberholzer.

In response, Saru replied with a letter to EP on Monday advising the union to hold a special general meeting and elections within 21 days in a bid to end the infighting. Saru said it wanted this period of instability to be rectified as a matter of urgency.

To compound matters, the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) also entered the fray on Tuesday, saying the infighting was forcing it to reconsider its relations with the EPRU and its use of Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

SA Rugby has instructed the EP executive committee (that was present at a meeting on February 6) to convene within 48 hours to resolve the impasse in the union’s administration.

Bearing in mind the history of the union, Saru offered to have its appointed representatives act as independent electoral officers.

Brown said Oberholzer told her Saru would hold an emergency meeting to discuss the dire situation at the union, where staff claim they receive conflicting instructions from members of the rival groups.

The latest developments come on the eve of EP hosting the Grant Khomo U-16 national week at Grey High School next week and the EP Elephants kicking off their Currie Cup campaign against the SWD Eagles on Saturday.

Insiders said the conflicting instructions to full-time staff members caused chaos at the beleaguered union.

This latest development follows consecutive scenes at the union’s headquarters on Thursday and Friday last week, when executive member Elbo Prince disrupted meetings held by acting president George Malgas.

In a leaked letter, Brown said: “The EP staff and I receive conflicting instructions and we feel exposed and fearful of what is expected of us. In the meantime, I have also spoken to Rian Oberholzer and was informed Saru will have an emergency meeting regarding EPRU. I was told to wait for feedback from them.”

A high court ruling that Malgas be reinstated as the union’s acting president in place of Gerald Antonie triggered a wave of unhappiness among rival officials.

In a letter to EP Rugby, SA Rugby said: “In these circumstances, and for the good of the rugby-playing community in the Eastern Cape, we seek your urgent confirmation that the EPRU executive committee will revert to the plan to hold a special general meeting to fill the vacancies within 21 days of this letter.

“For its part, bearing in mind the history and context in which such a meeting will take place, Saru offers to have its appointed representatives act as independent electoral officers in the process.”

Saru said it had taken note of the court order dated June 4, which stipulated:

• The decisions to appoint Antonie and Roger Serfontein as the president and deputy president, respectively, of the EPRU — whether in terms of the meeting of February 6 or March 23 — have been reviewed and set aside; and
• The decision to hold the EPRU annual meeting on April 20 has been reviewed and set aside.

“Consequently, EPRU finds itself in the same position it was when it first sought Saru’s assistance in November 2023, with the positions of president, deputy president and chairperson of coaching and development on the EPRU executive committee vacant.

“At the EPRU executive committee meeting on February 6, at which certain Saru officials were present, a decision was taken to hold a special general meeting to fill the vacancies on the executive committee. Though this decision received majority support from the attendees, including those who might oppose one another for the available positions, it was not followed.

“The proposed special general meeting was not held in accordance with the EPRU constitution. It was instead added to the AGM agenda.

“As was made clear at the meeting of February 6, the Eastern Cape region is of too great importance to SA Rugby to allow its talent to stagnate due to infighting among its leaders. Saru requires this instability be rectified as a matter of urgency.”

The infighting in EP Rugby that has played itself out in the public domain is forcing the MBDA to relook and reconsider its relations with the EPRU as the continued use of the stadium facility as a tenant

—  Anele Qaba, MBDA CEO

EP Rugby is fiercely tribal, with one group supporting Malgas and the other nailing its flag to the mast of ousted president Antonie and his deputy Serfontein.

Meanwhile, a defiant Malgas said he would not be bullied and was not planning to run away after he was allegedly held hostage by rivals with armed personal security guards at the union’s offices in North End.

The feud between groups within EP Rugby reached boiling point last week, resulting in Malgas reporting a criminal complaint under the Firearms Control Act.

EPRU executive member and Sundays River Valley Rugby Union president Prince arrived at the union’s offices unannounced to disrupt a meeting called by Malgas on Thursday.

Malgas called the special executive meeting to discuss a court judgment which effectively reinstated him as union vice-president and acting president. But Prince arrived with heavily armed men, whom he said were his personal bodyguards, and started shouting at Malgas and other attendees. He was told that because of the court order he was not allowed to attend executive meetings and was warned to leave or he would be escorted out by security.

MBDA CEO Anele Qaba said the reported security breaches at Imatu House, where EP Rugby’s offices are housed, were of serious concern to the agency and stadium management.

“The infighting in EP Rugby that has played out in the public domain is forcing the MBDA to relook and reconsider its relations with the EPRU as the continued use of the stadium facility as a tenant. As per the past years, the EPRU has not brought significant commercial gains for the stadium considering their lack of premier league participation.

“The incident is accelerating our review [of] continued association with the union if it can’t get its house in order,” he said.

The risk to agency personnel and customers caused by the recent incident was unacceptable and could not be tolerated or condoned, said Qaba.

“The MBDA and stadium management will engage the board on this matter and engage the city on this. The entity will also take stock of its security measures and protocols to pre-empt and prevent such occurrences.”

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