Monrovia — The ongoing conflict within the Liberian basketball community shows no signs of reaching a resolution as Rufus Anderson, the embattled president, continues to insist on implementing the Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) order without compromise.
The leadership crisis within the basketball association has persisted for over three years, with Anderson claiming to be the rightful president while Abraham Samukai contests his position after Anderson's disqualification by the election commissioner. Anderson was disqualified due to an alleged illegal withdrawal of funds from the LBA account, which involved depositing registration fees for his team and subsequently withdrawing them a few hours later. Anderson, however, argues that the funds were intended to cover the election venue and refreshments.
Despite Anderson's disqualification, the FIBA representative present at the election refused to acknowledge Samukai's leadership, citing his absence during the election. The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Liberia National Olympic Committee have continued to recognize Samukai as the LBA President since November 2019. In contrast, FIBA maintains that Anderson is the rightful president and has communicated this to the Sports Ministry and Olympic Committee. This disagreement has prevented the country's national and club teams from participating in international competitions, despite the existence of a league.
In an attempt to resolve the protracted crisis, the Ministry of Youth and Sports organized a meeting with basketball stakeholders on Thursday. However, the meeting concluded without a solution after several hours of discussions. Despite appeals from basketball stakeholders to allow clubs that joined the Liberia Basketball Association National League after 2019 to participate in the election, Mr. Anderson insists on maintaining the status quo.
During the meeting at the SKD gym, Rufus Anderson, who claimed he had no interest in contesting the LBA Presidency, emphasized the importance of following the rules in resolving the basketball conflict. He stated that he is not the cause of the conflict but rather blames those who refuse to honor the FIBA mandate issued over three years ago. Anderson, who was ousted four years ago by Abraham Samukai and others supported by the LNOC and Ministry of Sports, revealed that his passion for basketball had led him to remain silent since the controversial election.
Local basketball stakeholders pleaded with Anderson to allow all clubs, both before and after 2019, to participate in the election as a means to end the conflict. However, Anderson rejected the idea, asserting that it would contradict FIBA's directives to Liberia. Sports Minister D Zeogar Wilson, who convened the meeting to find a solution, expressed his disappointment with Anderson's refusal, suggesting that he was not genuinely committed to resolving the bitterness within the LBA. Minister Wilson affirmed that the Government of Liberia would take decisive action to resolve the matter and called for clarity from FIBA regarding its mandate in resolving the conflict.
Rufus Anderson had proposed a roadmap for managing basketball and conducting elections within a two-month period. His roadmap included reinstating his Executive Committee, a proposal that had previously been rejected. However, club owners, players, and coaches present at the meeting accepted the roadmap and requested Anderson to open the election to all clubs, regardless of their entry year. This particular issue led to a deadlock and further deepened the state of uncertainty in Liberian basketball, while young talents continue to suffer.
Origins of the LBA Crisis
The Ministry of Youth and Sports upheld the decision of the Election Commission of the Liberia Basketball Association on November 30, disqualifying incumbent President T. Rufus Anderson, Vice President for Operations Bruce Quaye, and incumbent Financial Secretary Jairus Harris. The ministry also agreed to a rerun election scheduled for December 21, 2019. This decision came after a tense closed-doors meeting among key stakeholders at the ministry's offices in Paynesville.
Anderson, the outgoing LBA president, insisted that he remained the rightful president until FIBA Afrique issued an official communique authenticating the legitimacy of the association's electoral process, which resulted in the automatic ascension of a new leadership team for the next four years. Despite being disqualified from the process due to violations of the election guidelines, Anderson provided justifications that were widely regarded as flimsy.
The Election Commission's report detailed the events leading up to the elections. During the period from November 25 to 29, the LBA leadership, Ministry of Youth and Sports officials, and basketball stakeholders agreed that all electoral fees should be paid directly to the commission instead of the LBA's account, which was under Anderson's control. The commission highlighted the liquidity shortage experienced by banks at the time, which would have hindered their access to deposited funds, as the reason for this decision.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
However, Anderson and his team claimed to have deposited their electoral fees into the LBA's account, providing deposit slips as proof. Subsequently, on November 30, the commission discovered that Anderson, Quaye, and Harris had withdrawn their fees from the LBA's account on the same day they had purportedly made the deposits. The commission concluded that the candidates had misled them and the Ministry of Youth and Sports regarding their payment of electoral fees.
The Ministry insisted on a rerun election since the original elections were conducted in the absence of the FIBA Africa observer, who had left the congress hall. Consequently, Abraham Samukai was declared the president-elect, while other decisions of the Election Commission were deemed valid and recognized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
