The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter
LAZARUS Muhoni – the man at the centre of a cocktail of allegations that he demanded and received kickbacks from six Manica Diamonds’ players together with his colleague Lloyd Chinawa – has come out of the shell accusing coach Luke Masomere of victimising them for standing in the way of the veteran gaffer’s “well known tendency of taking bribes from players”.
Muhoni and Chinawa maintain that their hands are clean. Post Sport is in possession of a trail of money transfer Ecocash messages backed by written reports of aggrieved players, which were presented to the investigation team led by founding chairman Newton Demba.
While Chinawa had one money transfer Ecocash transaction between him and a player, Muhoni had six!
“Transfer Confirmation. USD 150.00 to LAZARUS MUHONE Approval Code: PP190212.1901.K68268. New wallet balance: USD 2.40.
“Transfer Confirmation. USD 300.00 to LAZARUS MUHONE Approval Code: PP190211.14431.L02044. New wallet balance: USD 6.99.
“Transfer Confirmation. USD 100.00 to LAZARUS MUHONE Approval Code: PP190215.2003.U07313. New wallet balance: USD 55.91,” are some of the Ecocash money transfer confirmation messages from different players.
However, in an exclusive interview with Post Sport, Muhoni poured his heart out saying Masomere was the architect of all the allegations they are facing. He alleged that Masomere hated him to the extent that the former Shabanie Mine coach told him in his face that it was better Muhoni had died in place of deceased national hero Oliver Mutukudzi.
“I think I have to speak at length for the first time since this went into public domain. A lot has been said in the newspapers and on radio but I am now speaking on my own behalf and no one else. I am fully aware of where this is coming from. It is Luke Masomere who hates me. He hates me with a passion to the extent that he told me right in my face that it was better if I was the one who had died in place of Oliver Mutukudzi.
“Our only crime is that we stood in the way of Masomere’s attempts to take bribes from players. Who does not know Masomere and how he takes bribes from players? I want the entire nation to know the truth. The coach was signing players last year and he was hurt that the system changed.
“I was now in the position of negotiating contracts and signing players together with Chinawa, chairman Masimba Chihowa and the administrator Owen Sango. This was done because they knew Masomere’s personality. However, this did not go down well with Masomere. In fact, the move to have that committee in place was meant to prevent a situation wherein Masomere would take advantage by taking bribes from players. We all know how he used to take bribes from players from his former clubs like How Mine. That is how he was eventually fired.
“He was even open with me that ‘Muhoni leave us to enjoy diamond money’. He actually said ‘the sponsor has a lot of money’ so I should not stand in his way as he attempts to siphon money from the sponsor,” he said.
Muhoni narrated how he gave his personal money, accommodation and food to the players before they signed their contracts and how the players then showed appreciation for the services he rendered to them.
He said he took care of the players under his roof with his wife cooking and washing for the Manica Diamonds players. The former Warriors star questioned whether it is immoral for anyone who was well taken care of by a stranger to send $100 Ecocash token of appreciation.
“The number of players with cases that are being talked about are only five not the baseless rumours that is being spread to the effect that there are 20 or 30 players involved.
“Of the five players, I stayed with four of them at my place and two others later came to my place and spent two weeks. The players that stayed at my place are the ones that came from Green Fuel. The club said they could not keep them and I chipped in to assist in good faith for the good of the club.
“I stayed with these players for six months. I stayed with Tendai Mukono, Tafadzwa Pini and Gilbert Timoti. They had nowhere to go. Together with my wife, we took care of these boys, from the food they ate to the clothes they wore. I even bought soccer boots for them. I bought soccer boots worth $250 for one of them, $120 for the other and $150 for the third one. These boys really appreciated what we did for them as a family. I was even in contact with their parents and the parents were grateful for our gesture. The boys even went on to the extent of pledging to show their appreciation for what we did to them if they eventually secure contracts with any football club. I had no problems with that. These are the same people that are being used against me.
“This is not the first time that I have kept players at my place. Players such as Brighton Tuwaya, Energy Murambadoro and many more once stayed with me and we have done it for the love of the game. So when these were eventually signed at Manica Diamonds, they actually got the least in terms of the amount of money they received. They received $2 800. That is what they signed. They were the lowest. So when Mukono and Pini signed their contracts they offered to give us as a family $100, as a token of appreciation.
“They moved out and I even assisted them in getting their own accommodation. I accepted that they transfer the money to my phone because I never saw anything wrong with that. My question is that if you take care of a person at your place for six months and the person then shows appreciation by giving you $100, is that wrong? I was not given any compensation for taking care of them. I never demanded that because I did it for the love of the game and the Manica Diamonds project.
“Unfortunately when the story came out, it was twisted. I was now being accused of demanding money from them. How can I demand $100 from a person on whom I used more than $7 000 on? That does not make sense at all. There is also the case of a player Emmanuel Chingondi. We scouted him in Harare at Motor Action Sports Club. I talked to my wife and she agreed to give them accommodation and food with reservations because at that time they were now 11 in total at my place.
“We sacrificed our personal resources to take of them for a week. Some of them then went away and Chingondi was left behind at my place. His manager Naison Muchekela, a former player, pleaded with me to take care of the Chingondi and assured me that they will give me back my money after his guardian comes back from DRC.
“I accepted and that is why I even bought soccer boots worth $250 for him apart from the food, accommodation and welfare issues I took care of. When they returned my money, it was a total of about $600. I had no problems with him transferring $500 to my Ecocash and the $100 cash that he gave me. I had no problems with that because I thought it was above board. The same applies with Pritchard Mpelele.
“I gave him bus fare $65 to travel from his home town of Hwange. He also returned my money and the Ecocash message is now being used against me yet I did all this for the love of the team and the game. I even gave him another $65 when he wanted to go back for Christmas and when these players are returning what they owe me after they signed their contracts, people now peddle falsehoods. All this is outlined in my defence that will be presented to the investigation committee,” said Muhoni.
The unfolding drama, which was exclusively made public by our sister daily The Herald on Tuesday, resulted in the suspension of the alleged perpetrators – Muhoni and Chinawa.
When contacted for comment, Masomere said: “I can only talk about what is going on if I get clearance from the chairman or the vice-chairman. It is not good for football, though.”
