By Victoria Godfrey
Simba Sports Club's leadership elections will proceed as scheduled, with the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) taking charge of supervising the process following consultations aimed at resolving disagreements over the club's electoral arrangements.
TFF Election Committee chairman, advocate Kilomoni Kibamba, said the decision was reached after discussions with representatives of both the club's members and its investor, amid complaints over the election timetable and the procedures being followed by the club's governing organs.
The intervention seeks to ensure a smooth leadership transition at one of Tanzania's biggest football clubs, with the current leadership's tenure due to expire in January 2027.
Kibamba said TFF had received two letters relating to the elections. One notified the federation that the electoral process had begun, while the other raised concerns over procedures being pursued by one of the governing boards of Simba Sports Club Company.
"After holding discussions with Magoro, representing the investor, and Mangungu, representing the members, they agreed that the elections must take place within the stipulated timeframe," he said.
He explained that the constitutions of both Simba and TFF provide for a two-year leadership term. Since the club's previous elections were held on January 29, 2023, the current leaders' mandate is scheduled to end on January 29, 2027.
Kibamba said the election timetable prepared by Simba's Election Committee would remain the basis for the process, but would be revised to include important procedures that had not been clearly outlined.
These include arrangements for handling appeals and the involvement of the Ethics Committee, which are necessary to ensure that the electoral process follows the required procedures.
An official election announcement will be issued after the revisions are completed, with copies of the updated timetable expected to be available at Simba's offices on Friday, he said.
He added that the TFF Election Committee would supervise the elections in collaboration with Simba's management, as provided for under Regulation 14 of the Simba Sports Club Election Regulations, 2021.
Kibamba emphasised that the elections had not been cancelled or nullified, despite the disagreements that had raised questions about the club's electoral process.
The intervention is intended to keep the leadership transition within the constitutional timeframe, with new leaders expected to be elected before January 29, 2027.