Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube
Zimpapers Sports Hub
HIGHLANDERS chairman Kenneth Mhlophe is facing a storm from within his own membership, with life member Pilate Mahlangu pushing a vote of no confidence and accusing the Bulawayo giants of drifting into chaos under his watch.
In a strongly-worded letter sent to the club last Friday, Mahlangu, a Doctor of Laws candidate in Corporate Law and former executive hopeful, alleged the 99-year-old institution was literally operating “on autopilot” and mired in scandal.
“Yes, I authored the motion and submitted it to that email,” Mahlangu confirmed yesterday.
He said his move was aimed at forcing Mhlophe and his executive to answer for what he described as a leadership vacuum at the country’s second most successful football club.
“The idea is to hold him to account from now. Public officials should remember it’s not their personal property,” he said.
Mahlangu’s criticism comes barely weeks after former board member Thomas Ngwenya accused Highlanders of operating like “someone’s private business”.
While Mahlangu concedes his motion might not secure the two-thirds majority needed for it to pass under the club’s constitution, he insists it will serve as a wake-up call.
“I doubt if it will get the two-thirds majority, but it should be a wake-up call,” he said.
“Leaders of institutions should be subordinate to membership.”
In both interviews and his letter, Mahlangu accused staff at the Bulawayo giants of acting with impunity.
“People in the institution (workers/office etc) are doing mathanda (as they please) around Highlanders and the chairman is either complicit or clueless, likely the latter,” he charged.
His 11-point indictment of Mhlophe’s leadership paints a picture of an institution riddled with internal leaks, high executive turnover, unresolved fraud allegations, questionable player transfers, and a glaring absence of corporate governance structures such as an independent audit committee.
Among the explosive claims, Mahlangu said:
The club’s reputation has been dragged “through the mud” by a string of damaging scandals.
Confidential documents continue to leak from within the executive.
The club has cycled through “four or five” CEOs in a short span.
Alleged theft and fraud cases, including a $5 000 scandal involving a former CEO, have gone unresolved.
Controversial player movements, such as the “Mafios Chihweta PE Academy/Ajax debacle” and the “Simba Madzivire mystery,” raise red flags over management control.
Delays in securing work permits for the club’s rumoured new coach, when rivals like CAPS United and Dynamos have done so swiftly, suggest poor administrative competence.
The team’s poor run of results shows a lack of a clear football vision.
He also accused Mhlophe, who is also the Premier Soccer League vice-chairman, of presiding over “the unenviable accolade” of being the first Zimbabwean club to attract the attention of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
“The train is on autopilot on the way to a crash landing,” Mahlangu warned. “As the head of the executive, you are vicariously liable for the deeds or misdeeds happening under your watch.”
Mhlophe was not immediately available for comment.
Another storm had earlier been brewing at Bosso over the club’s seemingly lethargic preparations for the giants’ Centenary celebrations.
