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Calls mount for Chuene to go

Hilda Fourie

Pretoria - "Disgusting", "chauvinistic", "insensitive" and "selfish" are some of the words used by political parties to describe Athletics South Africa (ASA) and Leonard Chuene's handling of the Caster Semenya case at the weekend.
 
Cope, the DA and the ID are calling for ASA president Chuene's dismissal.

The ANC said the officials who handled the case surrounding South Africa's 800m women's champion at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, should be confronted.

This reaction came after Chuene admitted that he had lied about the issue of Semenya's gender testing at a media conference at the National Press Club in Pretoria on Saturday.
 
After Chuene admitted having known about the existence of the tests and still having lied about it, he asked journalists: "How many of you have never told a lie?"

According to Chuene, he had acted in Semenya's best interests, and "believed my persistent denials would help to protect her".

Gideon Sam, chairperson of the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), said in a statement that he recently had a meeting with Tubby Reddy, chief executive of SASCOC, Chuene and Molatelo Malehopo, general manager of ASA. During this meeting, Chuene repeated that they are not aware of any gender testing done on Semenya in South Africa.

According to Sam, SASCOC will launch an investigation to determine whether ASA officials had given their permission for gender testing to be done on Semenya before the World Athletics Championships.

Depending on the results of the investigation, SASCOC will then decide how to proceed.

On Sunday, at a media conference in Johannesburg, Gwede Mantashe, the ANC's secretary-general said: "The ANC's national executive committee looked at the Caster Semenya case and felt that the way in which it was managed, was disgusting. ASA did not handle the case with the utmost transparency and honesty."

In statements from the parties Cope, the DA and the ID, they called for Chuene's dismissal.

ID spokesperson Joe Mcgluwa said: "Here is someone whose lies have angered the entire country. His lies resulted in our accusing one another of racism and chauvinism.

"Caster's pride and honour have been wounded by one of our own people. That is the lowest form of chauvinism and unpatriotic behaviour, and for this Chuene must be punished. He has embarrassed us on the level of international sport."

Donald Lee, the DA's shadow minister for sport and recreation, said Chuene "is rapidly becoming a national disgrace". Furthermore, he said Chuene's "insensitive and selfish" behaviour hold negative consequences for Semenya's as well as South Africa's image abroad.

"Chuene's immediate dismissal is the least they can do."

The DA also asked SASCOC to investigate the case.
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