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Raymond Jaravaza
TWO Ngezi Platinum players and a woman romantically linked to one of them caused a scene that lasted for hours at a lodge in Bulawayo where the Premier Soccer League team was camped last month.
Ngezi Platinum camped in Bulawayo for four days leading up to the 0-1 defeat to Bulawayo City FC on 25 May.
Defender Keith Murera (ABOVE, LEFT) is alleged to have sneaked a woman identified as Lerato Khosidiva into camp with the help of close friend and teammate Donald Teguru (ABOVE).
What was meant to be a happy evening for the two love birds, Murera and Lerato, soon turned sour when the womana��s phone, a Samsung S4, was damaged by one of the players under unclear circumstances.
What started off as a quarrel between the a�?loversa�? over the damaged phone soon generated into a heated argument before Murera stormed out of the camp with other players for a night out in the city centre leaving Lerato stranded around 1am.
The scorned woman would have none of it as she stormed into one of the rooms where a number of Ngezi Platinum players were hanging out.
She locked the door holding hostage other players until Murera returned from his drinking spree to attend to the matter.
In her own words, Lerato narrated the fiasco to B-Metro.
a�?Keith and I were dating and had been hanging out after a match in Bulawayo when my phone was damaged, I didna��t see exactly who was responsible between him and Spanner (Teguru) but instead of addressing the issue he (Keith) dumped me at the lodge and went into town with his teammates and some girls,a�? said Lerato.
That was just the beginning of the drama.
a�?I locked myself into one of the rooms where about seven players were hanging out and I told them I would not unlock the door until Keith returned and addressed the issue of the damaged phone. He only came back to the lodge around 5am and acted as if nothing had happened,a�? she said.
Another confrontation ensued but this time it was resolved after a member of the technical team, who had been awakened by the early morning commotion, ordered Murera to sort out the fiasco and the player gave the woman $30 to fix the phone.
a�?He gave me $30 to fix my phone but it turned out the money was not enough and a week later when I was in Harare he promised to get the phone fixed or buy a new one. But he never showed up where we were supposed to meet.
Instead, he kept making empty promises until I decided to open a case at the Harare Central Police Station,a�? she said.
Ngezi Platinum chairman Jeremiah Gasitene first professed ignorance about the matter when contacted for comment and promised to find out from the team management what really transpired in Bulawayo on the night in question.
He, however, would not answer his phone the following day.
Murera denied being romantically linked to Lerato but instead claimed it was a case of sour grapes on her part.
a�?I regarded her as a friend and not someone I would date. She is not being fair by running to the police to open a case against me and Donald (Teguru) when we gave her $30 and promised to give her $90 more to fix her phone. I spoke to her today (Wednesday) and asked for her EcoCash number so we can send the remainder of the money,a�? said Murera.
B-Metro Sport is in possession of a string of messages sent by the player to Lerato pleading with her to withdraw charges as well as promising to give her money to repair the phone.
Online Reporter