Tshinga and his people dragged Bosso to ZANU PF – Nkolomi
Staff Reporter
Highlanders Football Club Board chairman Mgcini Nkolomi has disassociated his club from direct links with the ruling ZANU PF party.
Speaking in a telephone conversation leaked to ZimEye.com, with a Highlanders fan identified only as Ben Sibanda from South Africa, Nkolomi said that his club was not party to the ZANU PF invitation cards sent out to invite people to attend the handover

ceremony of the Highlanders Football Club bus over the weekend. Sibanda who was recording the call without Nkolomi’s knowledge had asked the board chairman why his board had allowed for a direct link of the Bulawayo club to ZANU PF.
Nkolomi said that his club was also surprised when they saw the widely condemned invitation letters which had the Highlanders logo and ZANU PF side by side said to be the sponsors of the event. At the bottom the invitation had an election campaign message for ZANU PF Makokoba by election candidate Tshinga Dube.
Highlanders fans the world over were infuriated by the invitation and the event which they considered to be throwing the team into politics. Most fans were particularly angered by the availability of Vice President Emmerson Mnangangwa at the function.
“We did were not party to the advert, we were also shocked when we saw the invitation. It was done by some enthusiastic members of the Tshinga Dube campaign team who did it without consulting us,” said Nkolomi.
“This is why three days after the invitation was circulated that Tshinga Dube had a press conference to clarify the matter,” added Nkolomi.
Explaining the relationship between Tshinga Dube and Highlanders, Nkolomi said that Dube had in recent years been the biggest donor to Highlanders and so the club was under no obligation to refuse to handle the bus donation the way Dube wanted. Dube is said to have contributed $25 000 of the $45 000 cost of acquiring the team bus.
“We could not refuse as a club when Dube wanted to invite his work mates in the form of Mungagwa and other government officials to help him hands over the bus,” said Nkolomi.
In media reports over the weekend, Tshinga Dube challenged the Highlanders supporters who were complaining of the involvement of ZANU PF officials in the bus saga telling them to keep quiet as they are only good at talking and not helping the club in anyway. Dube claimed that the club owes him $18 000 which he is contemplating writing off as it is failing to pay him.
Speaking at the poorly attended handover function at Bourbafields Stadium in Bulawayo, Vice President UMnangagwa cherished his new relationship with the Bulawayo soccer giants pledging his full support for the team. He was presented with a Highlanders number 9 replica Jersey with his name inscribed at the back.