The National Sports Council has been urged to intervene in the ‘constitutional violation’ by the executive of The Gambia Taekwondo Association who are accused of shunning the sporting body’s legally mandated governing laws to prolong their stay in office.

WAM Taekwondo’s Master said the executive of The Gambia Taekwondo Association’s term in office ended on 12 August 2021 but that they still decided to shun the constitution to prolong their stay in office.

Master Sarr and his team now call for the intervention of the sports council to bring a lasting solution to the debacle by organising an election immediately.

He said after petitioning the embattled executive that they copied to the National Sports Council which none of the two offices replied to their letter.

“When they told me these problems, I said ‘we should petition this executive because we cannot just write directly to the National Sports Council but what we did was petitioned this executive and copied it to the National Sports Council, but since then, they [executive] didn’t reply us and I told my people since we petitioned them and they refused to reply us, let’s now go to the sports council. 

“And when we went to the sports council, they told us anyone who has no knowledge about Taekwondo shouldn’t lead the association but blame us for electing them into office,” he said.

“Now, the sports council said they cannot interfere in the internal problem of the association but that they will wait until the right time to do the right thing and we told them: ‘we don’t want you to interfere, but you [council] is the place we can lodge our problems because the council is the governing body of sports in the country that’s why we lodge our complaints, but they’re also yet to reply us.”

“When the executive told us to write a reminder which we did and copied the National Sports Council, the council promised us that they will react but later told us that they cannot interfere,” Sarr added.

“So, I told the council that this executive’s four-year term expired on 12th of August 2021 and we should conduct an election, but the council told us that the executive told them that they will conduct an AGM and election on 30th of November, but the constitution says: the executive should inform the all clubs through the secretary general 30 days before the general assembly in writing. 

“The executive deliberately violated the constitution and that means these people don’t have the interest of Taekwondo because if you continue to violate the constitution which guides you, then you don’t respect the sports,” he said.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba