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Raymond Jaravaza
THE Highlanders donation scandal that ladies team coach Samukeliso Ndlovu is embroiled in has taken a new twist with the woman at the centre of the controversy involving sewing machines and cellphones claiming that the donation belongs to her and not the club.
In April this year Ndlovu is said to have received a donation of eight sewing machines a�� seven electric and one manual a�� as well as seven cellphones on behalf of Highlanders Royals as a donation from Australian team Melbourne FC as part of equipment for a self sustainable project.
She facilitated the deal while in Australia and asked Highlanders to write a pledge letter acknowledging her as a member of the revived Royals ladies team. Chief executive officer Ndumiso Gumede wrote to Melbourne City FC on 2 February 2016.
Highlanders Royals never received the donation.
When B-Metro Sport first broke the story last month on Ndlovua��s failure to account for and hand over the donation to its intended beneficiaries, she denied knowledge of the sewing machines and cellphones.
Buckling under pressure from Highlanders Football Club to explain the whereabouts of the donation or possibly face a fraud charge instituted by the club Ndlovu changed her story.
She was summoned by the club executive to explain her side of the story and also ordered to write a report after failing to give her principals a satisfactory explanation.
On Wednesday she told this publication that she had written the report and would submit it the following morning.
Then came the bombshell.
a�?I received two machines from my partners in Australia and South Africa to embark on a sewing project and the equipment belongs to me and not Highlanders. The initial deal was to use the Highlanders logo on our T-shirts in return pay the club a percentage from the sale of the merchandise.
a�?The club did not respond to my proposal on time and I had no choice but to continue the project without them,a�? said Ndlovu.
The seven cellphones also belong to her and Highlanders.
a�?When I left Australia I bought seven cellphones, two for myself and five for my family members. The cellphones were not donated to Highlanders, they are my personal property,a�? she said.
Ndlovu was at pains to explain why a consignment from Australia was delivered at the clubhouse in April if the donation was not meant for the club.
a�?The delivery company asked where they could deliver the machines and I instructed the driver to leave them at the clubhouse. I never knew that the Highlanders people could be so greedy to claim my machines and cellphones as theirs,a�? she said.
Highlanders chairman Peter Dube and CEO Gumede were in Harare attending to football matters during the course of the week.
a�?I have not seen the report because we are out of town,a�? said Dube.
Asked if Highlanders would take the legal route to get to the bottom of the matter he said the executive would have to go through the report before deciding on the next course of action.
Bongani Ndlovu