COURT THROWS SAFA’S ‘SEARCH AND SEIZURE’ CASE OUT OF THE WINDOW!

The SABC Sport reports that the South African Football Association’s challenge of the search and seizure by the Hawks at their Nasrec Headquarters in March last year got off to a rocky start, after the matter was removed from the court roll on Wednesday morning.

In a bizarre twist, the applicant, SAFA, did not show up at the High Court in Johannesburg as was scheduled, and Acting Judge CB Bhoola was left with no choice but to remove it. 

It’s a significant blow to the football association’s president Danny Jordaan – who just this week was appointed to the FIFA Competitions Committee – and CFO Gronnie Hluyo, are in the middle of a corruption and conspiracy to commit fraud case at the Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge.

The expectation was that the High Court’s ruling, in which SAFA had claimed that the raid was unlawful, would have an impact on the proceedings. 

SAFA had waited for almost a year to have the matter scheduled at the backlogged High Court since the duo’s arrest last November along with Grit Communications boss Trevor Neethling, and will now have to reapply for it to be heard and provide reasons for their no show. 

The Hawks stormed the SAFA offices on March 8 last year and collected evidence that led to the trio being arrested on November 13. 

They’re accused of using the association’s money to get a PR company to polish Jordaan’s image after the rape allegations in 2018, and hiring private security for the ex 2010 FIFA World Cup boss.