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Mawiwi’s horrific ordeal in eSwatini

Sport
The source revealed that on most occasions, only 10 players came for day-to-day training, but the club management would instruct the rest of the absconding players to be included in the matchday team.

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

After being allegedly duped and mistreated in eSwatini, former Harare City coach Bigboy Mawiwi is back in the country having severed ties with Denver Sundowns, popularly known as Manzini Sundowns.

Mawiwi joined the club at the beginning of December, but the relationship lasted less than a month where he presided over five games.

Although his statistics since getting the job were not impressive, it has emerged that the club management’s unorthodox ways of operating pushed Mawiwi out of the eSwatini Premiership side.

It is alleged that Mawiwi was promised a R10 000 signing-on fee, plus a R700 winning bonus, with club agent Dingane Maduna spearheading the talks, only to realise that the actual contract had lower figures, with the winning bonus pegged at R500 and club chief executive Elvis Dube and their agent, a Marina turning a deaf ear to Mawiwi’s call for an audience.

As the former Hwange coach was prodding for his sign-on fees to be settled, the club was already plotting his ouster claiming that part of the amount was used to buy him groceries, while R4 500 was allegedly sent to his wife.

Sources in eSwatini told NewsDay Sport that there was excessive interference in his line of work by the management.

The source revealed that on most occasions, only 10 players came for day-to-day training, but the club management would instruct the rest of the absconding players to be included in the matchday team.

It was also revealed that the club attempted to get rid of him by ordering him not to turn up for training on December 29, but rather go for a COVID-19 test as his air ticket to Zimbabwe had already been bought.

That move was a deliberate attempt to evade paying his dues.

”That became the beginning of the end,” a source said.

“Then last Thursday, he got a call ordering him not to turn up for training, but rather go to a laboratory for a COVID-19 test as the air ticket to Zimbabwe was ready. The attempt to buy the air ticket was to get Mawiwi out of the country and evade paying his dues,” a source said.

”Then Friday, they sent a driver to pick him up so that he could get his money. The driver only gave Mawiwi his salary and told him that they were heading to the laboratory for the COVID-19 tests.

“But being a Mbare boy, he outsmarted the driver, and jumped off the car at a traffic light before reporting the case to the country’s FA.”

Mawiwi had to seek the help of the Zimbabwe Soccer Coaches Association (Zisca) to get his dues before leaving eSwatini.

Zisca chairman Bhekimpilo Nyoni said: “Yes, I had to come in as Zisca chairman as Mawiwi was having problem with his team.

“I had to talk to Mawiwi as well as his agent Maduma. At the end, Mawiwi and the agent ended up working together to see that Mawiwi gets what he worked for.”

He added: “What I realised is that the clubs out there are very unprofessional and interfere with coaches. We encourage coaches to be very careful and make sure they get contracts and even show Zisca so that they are not taken advantage of when on foreign land.

“We also agreed to work with the eSwatini FA and also have an agent who advises our coaches before taking up jobs in that country.”

Follow Terry on Twitter@madyautatpm

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