Tshiki's suspension exposes Gumede

IT doesn't rains but pour for Bosso!

The two-weeks suspension of Highlanders prodigal son Njabulo "Tshiki" Ncube for allegedly smoking marijuana (mbanje) during the TM Pick n Pay final against Dynamos in Harare last week where they were thrashed 4-1 by the Harare giants has exposed Bosso boss Ndumiso Gumede whom fans have accused of fanning divisions in the club.

Tshiki together with his counterparts Charles Sibanda and Joel Ngodzo were yesterday dragged before a disciplinary hearing and charged for indiscipline but only Tshiki fingered as the ring leader of the trio received a tougher punishment of suspension while his accomplices were given final warnings.
However, the move has angered a cross-section of Bosso hopefuls who felt the decision adds into the woes of the team which has continually suffered at the hands of their nemesis Dembare. Fans condemned Gumede's decision to suspend Tshiki saying it was miscalculated ahead of the derby against giant killers How-mine in the Chibuku Super Cup quarter-final match scheduled for the weekend.

Ironically, Gumede pulled a shocker after the Bosso thrashing by Dembare last weekend when he warned that only fans who are fully paid up members have the right to wade into the Bosso fiasco. But his utterances have not been effective in silencing the vociferous fans who feel short-changed by the club that they have attached to heartily.

In two separate posts shared on the club's Highlanders FC Facebook page this morning, which were later pulled down for unspecified reasons, the administrator of the page launched an apparent attack on Gumede accusing him of selectively punishing Tshiki while his accomplices Ngodzo and Sibanda go scot-free.

The fiasco of the Bulawayo club has exposed the club executive which seems desperate to bring things into order. Yesterday the club stripped aging Innocent Mapuranga the captaincy which he held for 3 years replacing him with goal-minder Ariel "Mangoye" Sibanda in a move perceived by fans as a desperate attempt by the team's leadership to address the plethora of problems besetting the club including player misdemeanour.

Yesterday Gumede told Bulawayo daily Southern Eye that the club had suspended Ncube for indiscipline adding that his salary would be trimmed as a punitive measure to discipline the controversial forward.

"We have suspended JB (Ncube) for two weeks for indiscipline and part of his salary will be docked during that period. We have also given Charles (Sibanda) and (Joel) Ngodzo written warnings for indiscipline because this has become a trend," reported Southern Eye today.

After the loss to Dembare for the eighth year running the club has been in sixes and sevens and its leadership has been holding a series of meetings in a bid to address the problems which fans have blamed on the technical bench, the players and the club executive. This weekend the club will be under intense pressure to please their fans who have since lost hope at the club affectionately known as "Umantengwane".