Online Reporter
Fungai Muderere-Zimpapers Sports Hub
HIGHLANDERS’ long-running money troubles are back in the spotlight ahead of the club’s annual general meeting on Sunday, with revelations that Bosso are around US$500 000 in the negative and members expected to demand straight answers.
The Bulawayo giants will gather at the club’s clubhouse with one issue towering over everything else, the state of the finances, and whether the leadership can finally explain years of unanswered questions around debts, payments and how the club is being run.
But chief executive officer Denzel Mnkandla says he won’t jump the gun before the books are officially presented, insisting the audit process is still being completed.
“The club has the Exco Member Finance (Nkani Khoza) working with auditors finalising the audit of the club accounts. My suggestion is to wait for the outcome of the process before pre-empting issues,” said Mnkandla.
The financial headache comes as Bosso are still dealing with the cost of broken contracts and unpaid obligations in their technical department, a problem that has followed them from one season to the next.
Highlanders only managed to settle former coach Kelvin Kaindu’s US$11 000 in October, months after the Zambian parted ways with the club in the middle of last year, another reminder of how quickly disputes can pile up when payments stall.
Now, the club is said to owe head coach Hendrik Pieter de Jongh, his assistants, and goalkeepers’ trainer Try Ncube, along with Agent Sawu and Tembo Chuma, with the situation threatening to explode into more legal trouble.
De Jongh’s dispute has reportedly landed on the FIFA Legal Portal, reopening Bosso’s familiar battles with foreign coaches and raising fears of another sanction if the matter isn’t resolved. Sources say the Dutch coach’s complaint goes beyond prize money, with De Jongh also demanding payment for medical bills incurred in December while he was still under contract at Highlanders.
De Jongh has previously said he wrote to the club demanding his prize money, only to be told he fell under the same policy used for players, a response he rejected as he pushed for what he believes is owed to him as part of his contract.
He alleges that after submitting written demands, Highlanders attempted to place him under an internal 60-40 policy, where players collectively share 40 percent of prize money while the club retains 60 percent, a move that has become the centre of the latest fallout.
For Bosso members walking into Sunday’s AGM, it’s a familiar script, and it’s why the mood around the meeting is tense, because the club has been here before and paid for it.
About three years ago, Highlanders’ dispute with former coach Baltemar Brito ended in a Fifa transfer ban, only lifted after a US$26 000 settlement that was funded by businessman Wicknell Chivayo, a bailout that still hangs over the club’s credibility whenever fresh claims surface.
Sawu is also reportedly demanding outstanding dues, including what he believes is his share for breach of contract, as Highlanders try to close the chapter on a technical team they have already moved on from.
Bosso have since parted ways with De Jongh, Ncube, Sawu and Chuma, bringing in South African coach Thabo Senong and former Highlanders player Mkhokheli “Mshoza” Dube into the technical department as they attempt to steady the ship on the pitch.
While De Jongh, Ncube and Sawu are still without clubs, Chuma, a former FC Platinum and ZPC Kariba goalkeepers’ mentor, has already found a new home at MWOS FC, leaving Highlanders to face the consequences of what’s left behind in the boardroom.
