South African cricket head claims death threat

Cricket South Africa President Mtutuzeli Nyoka, who initiated investigations into allegedly irregular IPL bonus payments to CSA staffers, claims to have received death threats.

Nyoka told The Times that independent sources had informed him that his security was "at risk", which he was taking seriously as a death threat.

But CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, with whom Nyoka has been at loggerheads over the bonus issue, dismissed the allegations, saying he had not been aware of any death threats to Nyoka.

"What Dr Nyoka says is his personal matter and really has nothing to do with me. We can't take (the threats) seriously if we haven't discussed the details," Majola said.

There has been an uneasy truce between Nyoka and Majola after the former was ousted in absentia at a board meeting of CSA following his call for independent audit of the IPL bonuses paid to Majola and other CSA staff.

Nyoka was reinstated to his position after a court action and has re-instituted the independent inquiry which was initially converted into an internal one that largely cleared Majola, who had backed the IPL bonus.

In his court appeal, Nyoka had argued that the reason behind his ousting was his criticism of bonus payments of 4.7 million rands paid to CSA employees after the IPL and Champions Trophy that was hosted in South Africa in 2009.

Nyoka said he had not reported the matter to the police, but to Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula in an e-mail three days ago, but had not yet received a reply, probably because the minister was busy at the International Olympic Committee congress in Durban.

Mbalula's spokesman Paena Galane confirmed that the minister had received an e-mail from Nyoka.

"The minister has sent his special adviser, Max Fuzani to listen to claims," Galani said.