Mernat Mafirakurewa, AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
The president of the South Africa Athletics Board and his board have been suspended with immediate effect. Leonard Chuene and his team were fired for the way they handled the Caster Semenya gender issue. They are to face a disciplinary investigation, a statement from the Sports Confederation said.
The statement from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) said: "The suspended individuals will appear before a disciplinary enquiry to answer charges of bringing ASA, the sport of athletics, SASCOC and sport in general into disrepute."
It added: “We are considering taking appropriate action against the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for its disregard of Ms Semenya's rights to privacy".
ASA President Chuene recently admitted that he had lied about not knowing of the IAAF gender tests on Semenya before she left for Germany. ASA had earlier in the day issued a formal apology to Semenya for their handling of her gender verification tests but this did little to dissuade SASCOC going ahead with the suspensions.
"Athletics South Africa wishes to publicly and unconditionally apologize to Caster Semenya and her family, the president of South Africa as well as to all South Africans for the handling of her gender verification processes and the subsequent aftermath," ASA said in a statement on Thursday.
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