Moffat Qithi. Photo: Sunday World
The man tasked with running professional boxing in South Africa has a criminal record and also quit his previous job after being found guilty of dishonesty, the Johannesburg high court heard on Wednesday.
Boxing SA CEO Moffat Qithi was testifying in the defamation case against himself and Boxing SA by promoter Branco Milenkovic, who alleges he was unfairly blamed for world champion Noni Tenge being stripped of her International Boxing Federation welterweight crown in July last year.
Milenkovic is claiming R4m in damages.
Under cross-examination by Laurance Hodes, SC, Qithi admitted that he had three previous convictions – possession of stolen property in 1995, driving under the influence in 2006 and drinking in public in 2011 – and that he currently faces a charge of driving under the influence last year.
When Hodes asked him whether he had disclosed his criminal record when applying for the Boxing SA job in 2011 – the Boxing Act says the CEO cannot have been convicted of any offence involving dishonesty – Qithi replied that he had asked the police to check his record and they had told him it was no longer there.
“We are told that these things lapse after time,” explained Qithi, adding later that the Boxing Act stated it was Boxing SA that must appoint a suitable CEO. – BD Live
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