JOHANNESBURG – Royal AM president Shauwn "Mamkhize" Mkhize is fighting back against the Premier Soccer League's (PSL) decision to expel her club from the lucrative league, filing an urgent application in the Johannesburg High Court to have the decision declared unlawful and set aside.
Mkhize is urgently seeking a court hearing on Tuesday, May 20, in a bid to resolve the matter before the current league season draws to a close, potentially jeopardising Royal AM's future in South African football.
At the heart of the dispute lies the PSL's claim that Royal AM misled the league in its application for renewal of membership, submitted on July 1 last year. The PSL alleges that Royal AM falsely stated that its directors were Mkhize herself and her son, Andile Mpisane, when the sole director was, in fact, Shamish Sadab.
However, Mkhize vehemently denies any misrepresentation, asserting in court papers that the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) disclosure certificate clearly shows that Sadab was only formally appointed as a director of Royal AM on July 26 last year – well after the renewal of membership application had been submitted to the league.
Mkhize argues that while the club intended for Sadab to be recorded as the sole director at the time of the application, the CIPC had not yet amended its records, leaving Mkhize and Mpisane as the officially recorded directors.
"Put differently, when the renewal of the membership application was submitted to the league on July 1, 2024, Mpisane and Mkhize were the recorded directors of the applicant (club). This was factually correct, and there is no merit to the allegation that the applicant made any misrepresentations in the application," she stated in the court papers.
Furthermore, Mkhize contends that even if there had been a misrepresentation – which she denies – the National Soccer League (NSL) constitution does not grant the executive committee or the board of governors the authority to make findings related to misconduct. She insists that only the disciplinary committee is empowered to do so under the NSL's regulations.
Mkhize also takes issue with the league's reliance on allegations made by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) regarding changes in the club's shareholding. She clarifies that The Shandi Trust, whose sole beneficiary is her son Andile Mpisane, remains the 100% shareholder in Royal AM.
She explains that Sadab holds a 38% shareholding as a nominee for The Shandi Trust, solely for the purpose of funding and increasing the club's revenue, and did not become the owner of the shares.
Another point of contention raised by the PSL's executive committee is the club's alleged inability to fulfil its obligations due to two FIFA registration bans. However, Mkhize argues that the league did not object to the renewal of Royal AM's membership based on these bans, and therefore cannot now use them as grounds for cancelling the club's membership, especially after renewing it with full knowledge of the existing bans.
Mkhize attributes Royal AM's failure to honour certain league fixtures to Sars obtaining a preservation order against the club on November 21 last year, and the subsequent appointment of Jaco Venter as its curator.
She accuses Venter of failing to uphold his fiduciary duties by neglecting to pay the salaries of the football players, technical staff, and other employees of the team.
Despite Venter's alleged misconduct, Mkhize claims that the club managed to fulfil several fixtures against prominent teams such as Kaizer Chiefs, Amazulu, Golden Arrows, and TS Galaxy.
Mkhize highlights that on January 9 last year, Royal AM informed the league that it could not honour its fixture against Chippa United on January 11 because Venter had not yet paid the players' salaries.
"It is important to emphasise that it was only the Chippa United FC match that was postponed," she stated in the court papers.
Mkhize further alleges that on January 17, 2025, the league was assured that Royal AM and the curator would provide the executive committee with a "Letter of Comfort" guaranteeing that the issues caused by Venter's appointment would be resolved. She claims that Venter, the only person who could provide the letter, refused to do so unless an amount of R900,000 was provided to cover a cash flow shortfall, without using any of the assets under the preservation order.
Mkhize also points out that the league stopped paying the discretionary grant of R2.3 million to Royal AM from January this year, despite the club continuing to pay its players' salaries.
She argues that "by suspending the applicant's future fixtures and failing to pay the grant to the applicant, the league has contributed to the failure by the applicant to play its fixtures," adding that "the discretionary grant was enough to cover salaries of R1.9 million."
The legal battle between Mamkhize and the PSL is set to be a high-stakes showdown that could have significant implications for Royal AM's future in South African football, as well as broader questions about the governance and administration of the league. The court's decision will be closely watched by football fans and stakeholders across the country.
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