An Open Letter To Mr. Kaizer Motaung

We are all proud to be associated with the club and its brand, peace loving, “Abafana bokuthula noxolo”.

I can imagine the grief your family is going through now in the trying times of your son’s brush with the law. For all the years, I have known and come to accept that owners of big clubs are in one way or the other human and constantly found on the other side of the law. Never for once in my memory had you been fingered personally in some sort of vice up until your retirement into the back stage. For most of teams in South Africa’s premier league, there is an allegation of black dent and dirty money in their directorships. Quick to my mind comes Zola Mahobe, former owner of Mamelodi Sundowns football club.

I am a family head and have children too. Children are an amazing gift from God though they could equally bring shame to families. I share your grief and imagine it may as well happen to any family, including me.

Kaizer Chiefs is not a political organisation but a commercial brand residing in the hearts and minds of the diehard fans across the breadth and length of this country including beyond our borders and shores. Its presence is felt across race, ethnic groups, religion, gender, class and politics. I remember Lucas Radebe and some young stars in Britain who wanted to name their armature club after this glorious brand.

The Kings Report on good corporate governance calls upon organisation to keep in their midst members of integrity and beyond reproach. The investors, sponsors, fans and supporters would appreciate leadership by example and the rise of the great Kaizer. They would not want for any moment to be associated with persons of character under scrutiny by the law. The doctrine of “innocent until proven guilty” is good for politicians and not commercial brand and an asset of the nation, Kaizer Chiefs club. I respect his right to fair hearing and presumed innocent until proven otherwise, however, the brand does not deserve any minute of doubt for good corporate governance. Bobby deserves time outside the business of the brand to concentrate on his woes, woes which we pity him, hope and wish he is innocent of.

The recent poor performance of the club in the recent years is worrying and may as well be linked to the problems of the management. When management tone in the top is wanting and management has to devote time to non core activities of the enterprise, dismal performance is inevitable. Our Team Manager deserves time to concentrate on his predicament and prepare the best of defence in the allegations. This he can do outside Naturena. He has too much in his plate and would invariably be least psychologically involved with efforts for the best results. Naturally, the emotional stress and stigma has taken its toll on him.

The brand deserves less of the arrogant politicians who face the most horrible allegations and still stay in office in the pretext of the doctrine of innocent until proven guilty. The million supporters and fans in Mpumalanga are hurt that as tax payers, they have been duped in a billion rand tender and lost one of their finest sons, Jimmy Mohlala under inexplicable circumstances. How will the fans in the Mbombela stadium cheer their beloved team’s player when the owner defacto sitting in the coaching bench is accused of misdemeanour closely suspected to be linked to the loss of a husband, and a leader? Will fans and supporters in Mpumalanga queue for autography of Bobby after every win in the Mbombela stadium. Think of it, great Kaizer, it is just not ayoba.

The recent poor performance of the club leaves much to be desired. In the midst of “operation dribble” saga, why wouldn’t competitors and supporters make innuendos in view of these allegations against their brand manager? Do we deserve this stigma, definitely no? Politicians should learn from commercial enterprise and non-governmental organisations. Supporters and fans of the brand are voters and citizens in their own right, and how would they hold their government and political leaders to account when they condone same to their social enterprise club, brand Kaizer Chiefs.

Fellow club teams in the premier league look forward to learn from brand Kaizer that has become an institution in its own right. The standard and bar of decorum has been set high by the conduct of the family head, very humble and with humility, Kaizer Montaung. What more can we cry for than the honourable thing. Fans and supporters deserve an apology from Bobby for bringing the brand in dispute with his indiscretion. Give him a chance for his conscious to speak to him, if his conscious fail him, kindly relieve him of his responsibilities in the brand with immediate effect.

We bow in shame and cannot freely wear the brand paraphelia in the neighbourhoods. Other club supporters have started taunting us in the social media linking the poor performance to the woes of Bobby. How do we, as fans and supporters, wear our brand shirts when Bobby appears in court, we cannot be like political fodders who cheer and ululate when their leaders are facing the judicial for the worst criminal allegations, rape and corruption. Very soon, brand paraphelia of Kaizer Chiefs may be seen being burnt in the televisions by anti graft demonstrators as they do with political leaders they have lost love with.

Great Kaizer, make us proud in the family of the brand Kaizer Chiefs football club.

By Gardee Godrich, a former Provincial Treasurer of the ANCYL in Mpumalanga and a social commentator.