Why Mutuma left Highlanders

WHEN he packed his bags from Harare to join Bulawayo giants Highlanders, his arrival was met with mixed feelings.

Striker Roderick Mutuma had been off-loaded at Dynamos in January after also having left CAPS United in a huff two years ago over non-payment of outstanding salaries and allowances.

The lanky striker has once again quit Highlanders after a brief stay and it is about money issues. He has since moved back to the capital where he joined the Walter Magaya-owned Yadah FC reportedly on a six-month contract for $4 000 with a salary of $1 000 per month.

While in Harare, Mutuma was managed by the late Edzai Kasinauyo and at Highlanders he was represented by businessman Carlos Tavengwa.

Tavengwa yesterday made a surprise visit to Standardsport offices where he revealed that Mutuma's departure at Highlanders had to do with money as he struggled to fend for his family in Harare and his mother who stays in Mvuma.

Mutuma's manager asserts that Highlanders negotiated Mutuma's one-year deal in bad faith.

"I am not representing him in his move to Yadah but he approached me to tell me about his next move. His departure from Highlanders was due to bad blood. It was just about money. The contract that he signed was not honoured," Tavengwa said.

He said Mutuma signed two contracts in which he had to be paid $3 000 by a club benefactor Longwe Ndlovu, with the Bulawayo giants forking out $1 000 in signing-on fees.

Mutuma was promised a salary of $700 with Highlanders paying $500 which they honoured as player salaries are paid directly by club sponsors BancABC while Ndlovu was supposed to pay the difference of $200 very month, which Tavengwa said the player never received.

"Ndlovu paid $1 200 only in signing-on fees which came in batches after a struggle and after that he was nowhere to be seen. Mutuma never received the $200 in salaries from the benefactor which was promised and that ended up frustrating the boy who has a family to look after, a pregnant wife and his mother. Highlanders negotiated in bad faith and were not even pushing Longwe [Ndlovu] to honour his contract," Tavengwa said.

Tavengwa said Mutuma was a disciplined player while at Highlanders and had enjoyed his brief stay as a player with good relations with the coaches and the players but money issues had caused him to move.

Highlanders coach Erol Akbay, who is away in the Netherlands in the mid-season break, has indicated that he is disappointed with Mutuma's departure.

Despite scoring only two goals for Highlanders in the first half of the season, Mutuma combined well with Prince Dube, the team's leading scorer with six goals, providing assists in some of the goals that the young striker scored.

Bosso acting vice-chairman Modern Ngwenya told journalists last week that they had agreed to let Mutuma go, saying the striker had written off all the debts that the club owed him including the outstanding signing-on fees and winning bonuses.

"Admittedly, we owed him some signing-on fees but in the agreement he has cancelled that. It means we don't owe Mutuma anything. He applied himself very well, scored two goals and has been assisting fellow strikers score goals. He came to us and we sat down with him and allowed him to go. Our fans should be calm and not be angry with Mutuma. He is doing it for his family. It would be cruel for us to deny him an opportunity to go to Yadah where he will reunite with his family and get better remuneration. We want to thank him for coming to Highlanders and our supporters should also understand his move from this perspective," Ngwenya said.

Mutuma requested to be sent questions on his move but had not responded by the time of going to print, saying he was busy in meetings with his new employers Yadah FC.