Mthethwa vows to sue ‘Chippa’
LIZWE Mthethwa says he plans to sue Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi for slander and defamation after the Chippa boss this week claimed the player agent had conned him in a deal involving Polokwane City striker Puleng Tlolane.
Mthethwa, who has a number of high-profile players on his books, hit back yesterday after Mpengesi said on national radio station Metro FM on Thursday evening that he was “robbed of R50 000” by Mthethwa for what he initially understood was commission for the agent. But Mthethwa countered yesterday saying the payment was part of a sum of money owed to him by Mpengesi for previous dealings which saw Thamsanqa Sangweni and Lerato Manzini join the PEbased PSL team. The agent said Mpengesi did enquire about Tlolane but then told him he needed to pay him his money first before they could talk further.
“For me this is nothing but sour grapes,” Mthethwa said.
“Chippa owes me a lot money from previous transactions between the two of us. When he enquired about the player I told him ‘but chairman I cannot speak to you because you have previously proven that you are not a honest person’.
“If you want this player pay me my money from the previous transactions.
“I told him: ‘If I wake up tomorrow and you haven’t paid me the money then we cannot talk’. And then he paid me the R50 000.
“And that was not for Puleng it was for previous transactions involving Sangweni and Manzini.’’
Asked if there was any talks about the player after the money was paid, Mthethwa said: “To be honest there were no talks. He enquired about the player but there were no talks.
“Even my lawyer is working on a lawsuit for defamation. I am disappointed in him, he’s a good friend of mine. We talk on Whatsapp almost every day.”
Mpengesi refused to comment any further on the matter when contacted by The Herald yesterday.
Earlier in the week, the “Chilli Boys’s” boss told another radio station Tru FM he had secured contracts with two experienced strikers in Maritzburg United’s Kurt Lentjies and former PSL top goalscorer Tlolane.
When the news surfaced in the Herald and its sister publications the Sowetan and Daily Dispatch, it caused a stir in the Rise and Shine camp as the player still has two years left in his contract with the club.
Mpengesi said he was not aware of this and that Mthethwa told him the player was a free agent.
“We were robbed by the agent but I don’t think we are the only ones. I think Cape Town City were robbed as well,” the chairman said on Metro FM.
“A certain agent [Mthethwa] came to us. He has been talking to us since December to say the player’s contract was coming to an end and he did not want to renew with Polokwane City.
“I didn’t have a reason not to believe this agent because he’s an agent that we have done business with before. I didn’t even want to phone the player because the player was still contracted to the club.”
Mpengesi said Mthethwa presented the contract to him with the player’s name and he signed it. The contract was then sent back with Tlolane’s signature via Whatsapp as proof of the deal.
“We were happy that we have signed the player but then I was now waiting for the original contract so that we can launch the application at PSL,” Mpengesi said.
“Then there was an article in Sowetan and the other paper from Times Media Group [Herald]. I got this very funny call from angry Johnny [Mogaladi] the chairman of Polokwane City.
“Johnny said: ‘I hear that you have signed this player, this is my player and we still have so many years with. Why are you doing this I am going to sue you’
“I have been asking the same agent for the number of the player but he was refusing to give it to me but finally I managed to speak to him. “The player then confirmed he still had a two year contract with Polokwane saying: “This is not my agent’’.
“However, the conditions were that Chippa would pay the agent a sum of R50 000 up front as part of his commission fee.”
Mthethwa said the claims made by Mpengesi during his radio interview were scandalous.
“I can even send you a contract between me and the player to prove to you that Puleng is my player and I am his agent.
“If I have robbed him [Mpengesi] then what is he waiting for, because this thing happened a while ago. I should have a lawsuit in my office by now but he is going to have mine soon,” he said.
“Chippa wanted to know how much the player was earning and I told him the player is not on small money. He wanted to see, so I showed him.
“If he was to show you anything on Whatsapp he would show you exactly the thing I sent him of how much the player is earning,” he said.