‘Rubber’ runs to court

MBABANE –  Is local football about to be embroiled in yet another court battle?

This question looms after the embattled president of MTN Premier League giants Mbabane Highlanders, Bheki ‘Rubber’ Simelane, filed a notice of motion in the High Court. He is challenging the recent unveiling of Shauwn ‘MaMkhize’ Mkhize as the club’s new president.

A source close to the matter revealed that Simelane, a former player for the black and white capital city giants, intends to file an application through his legal representative, SM Jele Attorneys.

The application seeks a court order for him to remain the sole director of the team. “Rubber has instructed SM Jele to seek the intervention of the High Court to continue running the team alone, as per the agreement he signed with the patrons in April,” the source said.

The source disclosed that the patrons had given the former Mbabane Swallows striker an 18-month agreement to run the club, affectionately known as Inkunzi’emnyama, as president and a Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Board of Governors (BoGs) member.

However, they terminated it before rescinding the termination. “The withdrawal of the termination by the patrons means that ‘Rubber’ remains the sole director of the team,” the source added.

The source further stated that there was no way the patrons could unveil a new director or president while Simelane was still the rightful person to lead the club.

This publication investigated the matter further and managed to obtain a portion of the court papers. The documents cite Simelane as the applicant, with the Chairman of the Mbabane Highlanders Board of Patrons as the first respondent.