Highlanders FC, How boardroom power struggles are tearing Bosso apart

The confusion, division, and growing chaos at Highlanders FC are not accidental. They are the direct result of sustained interference by certain members of the Highlanders Board, individuals who were never elected by club members and who appear to have little regard for the club’s constitution, traditions, or accountability. The executive committee, duly elected by the membership, has been rendered ineffective. Its mandate to run the club has been repeatedly undermined by some board members who were hand-picked by a small inner circle rather than endorsed by the Bosso family. This has created a toxic power imbalance that continues to paralyse the club.

This is a Board that has abandoned Its constitutional role. Article 13 of the Highlanders FC Constitution clearly outlines the purpose and composition of the Board of Directors. Section 13.1 states that the board must consist of life members with specialised skills and distinguished individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the club and remain willing to guide it. Yet the current board composition tells a different story.

Several board members have no visible history of service, sacrifice, or tangible contribution to Highlanders FC. The most glaring examples are the appointments of Nkululeko Fuzwayo and Horace Ndubiwa, introduced as new board members at the 2025 AGM.

Mr Fuzwayo, a Botswana-based lawyer, has no known history with the club beyond life membership and has lived and worked outside Zimbabwe for more than a decade now. Mr Ndubiwa is a former board member of Bulawayo City FC, and it has never been clarified whether he formally resigned from that role before joining Highlanders. These unresolved questions alone should have disqualified their appointments until clarity was provided.

The constitution has been ignored and Highlanders FC members disrespected. Article 13.2 of the constitution is explicit, a board member must have rendered outstanding service to the club for not less than ten years and must be at least 35 years old. To date, no evidence has been presented to members demonstrating how either of the two gentlemen meets this requirement. There have been no known fundraising initiatives, no personal financial contributions, and no historic role played in the survival or development of Highlanders FC by either individual. 

Their elevation to the board has therefore left many members asking an uncomfortable but necessary question, were these appointments based on merit, or on personal connections? Even more troubling is the blatant violation of Article 13.3, which requires that all board appointments be ratified by members at a general meeting. For the first time in the club’s history, this process was ignored. At the 2025 AGM, board chairman Luke Mnkandla merely called the names of Fuzwayo and Ndubiwa and asked them to stand up. No credentials were presented, no debate was allowed and no ratification took place.

From Gatekeepers to Power Brokers, The Board’s responsibilities under Article 13.4 are advisory and supervisory, not Executive. The board is meant to provide strategic direction, oversee governance, and act as a disciplinary tribunal when necessary. Yet despite clear constitutional authority, the Board has failed to discipline Executive committee members accused of failing to account for club funds, claiming unauthorised allowances, and engaging in maladministration. 

According to three other distinguished Board members who requested anonymity, internal division, fuelled largely by the two new board members and an outspoken senior colleague, have resulted in key decisions being vetoed repeatedly. The same sources allege that efforts to suspend Executive members implicated in financial misconduct were blocked, with Fuzwayo and Ndubiwa alleged playing a decisive role. This has raised serious allegations that certain Board members are actively protecting individuals accused of financial impropriety due to personal or political connections.

There is alleged serious interference, selective justice, and corruption fears at the club. Beyond internal divisions, there are growing reports of direct Board interference in the club’s daily operations, another violation of the constitution. The Board, meant to be an advisory body, is allegedly inserting itself into routine administrative matters, blurring governance lines and creating further instability. The situation is worsened by the appointment of a Board member based outside Zimbabwe, despite the new constitution explicitly prohibiting individuals outside the country from holding office. This selective application of the constitution smacks of corruption and raises serious questions about the true agenda of those in control.

Highlanders FC is no longer being governed in the interests of its members. It is increasingly run like a private gentlemen’s club, dominated by an old guard that wields power without accountability, ignores the constitution at will, and silences legitimate concerns from members. Until the constitution is respected, the Board is held accountable, and governance is returned to the will of the members, Highlanders FC will remain trapped in a cycle of division, mistrust, and decline, inflicted not by opponents on the pitch, but by those entrusted to protect the club.