GU, Ostriches quarrel over Kebue
Gaborone United have been accused of playing dirty tactics over their reluctance to release the clearance document of former defender, Thato Kebue, who joined Orapa United recently.
Kebue joined the Ostriches on a two and half year deal earlier this month after his contract with the defending champions, Gaborone United, came to an end in December 2022.
Since then, he has not been able to make an appearance for the Orapa based outfit with reports suggesting that, The Money Machine, claims that the hard-tackling defender owes the club some monies and they will only release the clearance after the debt has been paid.
It is alleged that Kebue has been staying rent-free at the club’s apartments and now he is being asked to pay for the months he has been staying at the club, assertions denied by Gaborone United.
Orapa United Vice Chairman Themba Mmui however confirmed that Kebue is yet to feature for the club as his former side has refused to issue a clearance certificate which will then complete his transfer.
“His contract with Gaborone United came to an end and we signed him, he was a free agent and now he is our player, we did everything by the book to sign him. We then requested a clearance from his former team for us to complete his signing in the transfer management system, unfortunately they refused to do their part hence his registration is still hanging,” Mmui responded.
In addition, Orapa United Vice Chairman told BG Sport that, the Botswana Football League (BFL) defending champions wrote to the player and indicated that he must first return their belongings, amongst them, the 2022/2023 football season training kit and the keys to the apartment he stayed in.
“They engaged the player and asked him to return some of their items. He received their letter on Thursday after signing and luckily for us, by Friday we had already managed to move the player and he returned all that they needed, including the training kit, just a few days later after registering with us,” he said.
“Despite the fact that we are the ones who asked for the player's clearance, they did not professionally engage with us, rather they engaged the player,” Mmui added, questioning Gaborone United’s professional conduct. Furthermore, BG Sport investigations have learned that, towards the end of Kebue’s contract, he started to receive more than the agreed amount on the contract, representatives of the player sort clarity over the issue and they
were told the money was a gift.
It now appears that the gift have subsequently turned into a debt following the players’ departure and therefore, he must pay.
“It is alleged that Kebue owes the team, they once gave him some money and now they want it back, initially it was said to be an over payment which was later translated to be a gift to the player. Notwithstanding that they could be owed by the player, what needed to happen was for them to engage relevant labour authorities to draft a payment plan not to refuse to release his clearance, it is very unfair on Orapa United,” a source close to the player opined.
Orapa United reportedly wrote to Botswana Football Association (BFA) head of secretariat, Mfolo Edwin Mfolo to seek intervention.
In a meeting held on Tuesday afternoon, Mfolo and Gaborone United bosses could still not agree on a solution and Botswana Footballers’ Union (FUB) have now been involved as mediation efforts on the issue continues.
“We wrote to the BFA CEO, there is no dispute on who owns the player, but people just don’t want to release the player’s clearance information. The BFA representative did meet with GU officials on Tuesday but there was no breakthrough in their engagements, so we are to meet and decide on the way forward. To be honest this is really frustrating for both the player and the club,” Mmui highlighted.
Gaborone United General Manager, Thapelo Mothusi vehemently dismissed the accusations levelled against the club.
“As far as I know, we’ve given the player and his representative the clearance form, we’ve long done that. He is yet to officially complete the hand-over of the apartment to us, but that has nothing to do with his clearance,”
Mothusi responded.
BG Sport contacted the BFA CEO who confirmed that indeed Orapa United did send a complaint regarding the matter between the two clubs.
“They wrote to us notifying us that GU are refusing to issue the players’ clearance form, On Tuesday we called GU to a meeting just to find out what could be the issue. They revealed that Thato Kebue owes them an amount closer to P14 800.
They also indicated that engagements over the matter over the subject are ongoing, there is a common understanding that Orapa United will pay the money, according to Gaborone United, but the debt and the clearance matter are two distinct issues,” Mfolo responded.
Mfolo concluded by stating that the two clubs have been urged to engage and resolve their disparities.