Government must investigate ANFA boss Ganesh Thapa

The explosive investigative reporting done by "The   Sunday Times", the British Newspaper   based on hundreds of millions of e-mails, accounts and other documents on the corruption scam surrounding banned and disgraced former AFC President Mohammed Bin Hammam of Qatar is a bombshell.

Reports suggest there are more revelations   to come. More importantly, the latest revelations lends credence to the corruption charges against President of All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) Ganesh Thapa, which he vehemently denies.

His  name figures in the long list of people bribed by Mr. Hammam.  The report reveals Mr. Thapa   received   115,000 pounds from two separate Kemco ( a firm owned by Mr. Hammam ) accounts in 2010 for his vote to support Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

Remember, two years ago, Associated Press   had reported that Mr. Thapa  received illegal cash payment of $100, 00 from Mr. Hammam.  But countering the accusation then, he had shamelessly and adamantly denied any wrong doings.

He came with a flimsy explanation for why he took the money. In fact, he lied through his teeth. The man can really lie with a straight face.  

He   insisted that   it   was   merely a loan and   returned   what he   had taken. If   that’s the case then why did he have   to   transfer the money into   his son’s account who was    an employee of   Asian Football Federation (AFC) at the time?

Later his son lost his job over the corruption scandal.  It was only a cover up to protect himself. The truth is   worse than we could have imagined.

Now   that more reports of corruption charges, involving Mr.  Thapa have   surfaced, I   wonder how he reacts to the accusations   and   what he has to say.

Seizing the opportunity,  two ANFA  vice presidents, Karma Tesering Sherpa,Bijay Narayan Manandhar along with ANFA member Pankaj Bikram Nembang, coach Arjun Lama and Dipak Khati( athlete)  released a    joint press statement, accusing ANFA boss Ganesh Thapa  with 18 counts  of wrong doings, including   his involvement   in  Mr. Hammam  corruption scam.

They have urged the Sport Ministry, National Sports Council (NSC) and Commission for the Investigation of Abuse and Authority (CIAA) to launch a corruption investigation and relieve him of his post.

Mr. Thapa is well known for his dirty tactics of influence, manipulation, coercion   and intimidation when it comes to silencing detractors and critics.  He is a man who cannot   digest even a little bit of gentle criticism.

Everyone knows he has most of the media in his pocket, and it is no surprise that they carry the water for him. He has held office for more than two decades   and his actions   have transformed   the presidency into a dictatorial position.  

Despite allegations   of   corruption   on both domestic and foreign fronts, the government has failed to hold Thapa accountable. The fact of the matter   is   it has shown no   interest in investigating him.

Nobody is above the law. The government is duty bound   to investigate every report of suspected corruption that it receives.

What baffles and infuriates me even more, is that, the three state institutions, Sports Ministry, NSC and CIAA have refused   to   take up the issue and remained as silent spectators, allowing Thapa to adopt a more dictatorial approach.

Let us keep our fingers crossed and see what happens next.