Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube Zimpapers Sports Hub
FORMER Highlanders chairman Roger Muhlwa has thrown the spotlight back at Bosso members, saying the club’s troubles were born at the ballot box and not on the training pitch.
Speaking on Monday, Muhlwa said supporters cannot keep crying foul over poor leadership when they are the same people who elect club executives, then vanish when it is time to demand accountability.
“The problem lies with people who elect people into office,” said Muhlwa. “Members do not do enough research on candidates or their past track records. If someone has never led or succeeded anywhere, expecting miracles at Highlanders is asking too much.”
He said Highlanders elections should be treated like a serious recruitment exercise, not a popularity contest fuelled by friendships and familiarity. According to Muhlwa, members are effectively handing over control of a major institution and must choose leaders who can work as a team and rebuild a club that has lost ground both on and off the field.
Bosso’s voting culture, he warned, has become dangerously casual.
“Members must interrogate candidates properly and stop voting for friends and drinking mates. Vote for people who will serve the club with distinction, then support them once they are in office,” he said.
Muhlwa’s blunt assessment comes as frustration grows among Highlanders members over rising debts and an executive that has yet to present a convincing business plan to reverse the financial slide.
The club is believed to be about US$500 000 in debt, a figure Muhlwa says cannot be fixed by gate takings alone, especially with dwindling match-day revenue.
“That kind of hole cannot be patched by turnstiles,” he said, adding that sponsorship obligations now consume a large chunk of monthly expenditure while a clear route out of the debt trap remains missing.
Muhlwa said fans often rush to blame coaches and players when results dip, but the real damage is usually done in the boardroom where contracts are signed, money is spent or wasted, and long-term direction is set.
“A club is as good as its administration,” he said. “People talk about coaches and players succeeding elsewhere, but without capable leadership, nothing can be achieved.”
His words carry historical weight at Bosso. Muhlwa chaired Highlanders during the 1998 and 1999 seasons, laying the groundwork for a golden era that produced three league titles under the late chairman James Mangwana.
That successful executive included respected football administrators such as Kennedy Ndebele, now Zifa vice-president, the late Shadreck Sibanda, Isaac Mlilo, Themba Ndlela, Liqhwa Gama and Nhlanhla Dube.
Muhlwa said that era showed what is possible when leadership is disciplined, focused and willing to do the hard work behind the scenes instead of chasing applause.
With Bosso supporters restless and the club stuck in financial turmoil, his message is simple. If members want a functional Highlanders again, they must stop voting with emotion and start voting with standards, because the next executive will inherit a club that cannot afford another false start.
