Murape quits Swazi Highlanders

By Fanuel Viriri

FORMER Dynamos captain Murape Murape has sensationally quit Swaziland premiership side Mbabane Highlanders after playing two matches amid reports the industrious midfielder is retracing his footsteps to DeMbare.

He is expected to rejoin the Glamour Boys outside the window because of his free agent status. Murape will become the second high profile player to rejoin DeMbare after Evans Gwekwerere.

Murape, who is expected in the capital today, severed ties with Highlanders on Friday “due to unfulfilled monetary promises by the club”.

Dynamos secretary Stan Kasukuwere said Murape was “family” and was welcome home.

“He is our former captain and led us with great pride. He is welcome home. He left in a huff and we gave him the greenlight to go and play in Swaziland. Like we have always said in the past we should solve our problems before making rushed decisions. I will be informing the coaches of the good news,” Kasukuwere said last night.

Murape told the Swazi Observer on Friday that he had decided to quit Highlanders as the team had not only failed to pay him his signing-on fee but was made to run from pillar to post in trying to get his salary for the past two months.

“When I joined Highlanders, there was an agreement in place, which was discussed between my former team Dynamos and Masuku (Musa, Highlanders’ chairman).

However, everything was different when Jele came into the picture as he changed the contents of my initial contract.

“I can tell you that I was now getting far less than what I was paid at Dynamos but I did not make much noise about it because in my mind, I felt I needed to prove my value as a player by putting up consistent performances in the field of play.

“Just when I was focusing on my job to play and build my reputation at Highlanders, then off-the-field problems cropped up. This disturbed my focus because the problems I was encountering were affecting my performance,” Murape said.

Murape said he was returning to his homeland because he was literally starving in Swaziland.

“You know, even in Zimbabwe where I stay was better in terms of living conditions because I was not starving. The living conditions I am facing now are a sign that the team does not respect me as a player, which is why I have decided to return home,” he said.

“It’s not about money, it’s about respect and honesty. They have failed to respect me as a player and that’s critical to me as a foreigner.

“I have discussed this issue with my family back home and the advice I’m getting is that I should return home where I will have food to eat. I’m now waiting for my brother in UK (England) to send me some money so that I go back home. Even my former team (Dynamos) is ready to welcome me back but we would have to thrash out the contractual issues with Highlanders,” he said.

Murape left DeMbare in August after four months of frustration at the club, as he could not get game time, following the coming in of coach Elvis Chiweshe at the helm of the Harare giants in April.

The 2007 Soccer Star of the Year, Murape captained DeMbare during the fairy-tale Champions League campaign, when they reached the semi-finals. He played 500 minutes in the Champions League. Source: Zimbabwe Standard