Dynamos will have to do without their new acquisition, Kingstone Nkhatha for the remainder of this month after it emerged yesterday that the Harare giants can only register their experienced striker with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in September.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA/HENRY MHARA
According to the statutes governing player transfers, in particular free agents, as is the case with Nkhatha, he can only be registered after a lapse of a 30-day period if his clearance came when the transfer window had closed.
The 32-year-old forward joined Dynamos after severing ties with SuperSport of South Africa last month, but it is understood his clearance from the former club and international transfer certificate (ITC) from South Africa Football Association − documents which enable him to register with the PSL − arrived after the close of the transfer window on July 31.
This means Dynamos can only register Nkhatha on September 1 after the expiry of the 30-day period.
Dynamos team manager Richard Chihoro confirmed as much. “His (Nkhatha) ITC arrived last week, but the window period had already closed. So it means we can only wait to register him on September 1,” Chihoro said.
This development means that the powerful striker, who has been training with the club and heavily involved in friendly matches will probably miss the team’s crucial matches during that time, including against big rivals Highlanders and Caps United.
Dynamos were set to travel to Bulawayo for the big clash against Bosso last weekend when the league resumed after a three-week break, but the match was postponed by the PSL.
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Reasons for the postponement have not been given, but it is understood that the two teams had been picked to play at President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa’s planned inauguration ceremony last Sunday as part of the day’s festivities.
However, the ceremony had to be put on hold after a court challenge of his election victory by MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
Dynamos are expected to resume their league action this weekend, but it’s not clear whether they will be travelling to Highlanders first to fulfil last week’s postponed fixture or they will be hosting ZPC Kariba as per this weekend’s PSL fixture schedule.
Other matches that could come before September 1 for Dynamos are against Yadah FC and Caps United in the big Harare derby.
Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa and the club’s supporters will be hoping that the Harare derby, in particular, should come when they have regularised Nkhatha’s signature.
He will be registered with the PSL as a foreigner after he attained a South African resident status, having met the minimum five years required to be eligible for permanent residence.
Nkhatha moved to South Africa in 2007, when he joined Free State Stars in a successful career that saw him go on to play for Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport.
The former Buymore striker is one of the four players that the club acquired in the mid-season transfer window, together with Munashe Kaseke and returning stars Brett Amidu and Denver Mukamba.
Nkhatha is expected to breathe a new lease of life into what has been a poor Dynamos attack this season, which Mutasa has pointed as the team’s missing link.
Strikers Quality Kangadze and Kuda Kumwala have failed to fill in the boots left by Cameroonian Christian Ntouba, who was frustrated out of the club at the start of the season.
The Glamour Boys have scored 17 goals in 20 games, fewer than Bulawayo City and Shabanie Mine, who have 18 and 19 goals respectively, two teams that are second bottom on the log standings.
Bottom-placed Mutare City have scored 15.
Mutasa has blamed the lack of firepower for the dismal start to their season, where they are hovering just above the relegation zone and currently sit on 13th place with 22 points, just three better than Nichrut who occupy the relegation cut-off point.
