Dynamos spent US$126,000 on n’angas/sangomas without paying their players

…_The Sangomas help them perform rituals for them to win games?_

DYNAMOS splashed a staggering US$126,000 on sangomas in 126 league and Cup matches, including CAF Confederation Cup assignments, spread over 32 months while neglecting their commitments to pay dues for two Ghanaian players.

The ailing giants’ shocking decision to ignore payments to Emmanuel Paga and Frederick Botchway, while religiously paying their sangomas, has backfired after Dynamos were handed a transfer ban by FIFA.

The suspension bars the Glamour Boys from registering players locally and internationally.

According to FIFA, Dynamos owe Paga and Botchway US$8,500 and US$10,000.

The US$18,500, which the Dynamos officials decided not to pay the two Ghanaians is just a fraction of the US$126,000 which the Glamour Boys have been pumping into the coffers of sangomas during the same period.

Paga arrived at Dynamos in February 2022 while Botchway arrived at the Glamour Boys in February last year.

The money which Dynamos poured into the coffers of the sangomas has been calculated using the number of games which the Harare giants played since Paga was officially unveiled as their player.

Between Paga’s arrival in February 2022 and his departure in December last year, Dynamos played 126 games in league and Cup matches, including their Confederation Cup assignments.

Sources, who include former officials at the club, have been briefing H-Metro that Dynamos have, during the same period, been paying a flat US$1,000 per game to their group of sangomas.

Whether the money eventually ended in the pockets of the sangomas or disappeared along the way, no one knows and one of the major figures, who could have shed more light, is now late.

Given that these transactions do not have any receipts or footprints, it means they can’t be traced and no one will ever know whether these shadowy payments are getting into the hands of the sangomas.

What is not in dispute is that the return on investment for Dynamos, when it comes to success on the pitch, has been very poor with the club repeatedly failing to win the championship.

They have had isolated success stories in the Chibuku Super Cup, winning the tournament twice in the past two editions, which probably gives the sangomas justification that they are doing a pretty good job and deserve their pay.

But, Dynamos are a club who built their reputation on being champions and, right now, they are stuck on third-from-the-bottom of the table with just one win in their opening 13 games.

“Vana sekuru’s argument is that if they were not helping the team then things would have been far worse than what we have seen in the past few years,” a source told H-Metro.

“So, when the team loses 1-0 for example, vana sekuru will say that if it wasn’t for them then it would have been a humiliation like 4-0. It’s a delicate situation and it’s something that is believed in at our club.”

At a media conference called by the club’s supporters in Harare yesterday, one of the people who addressed the media raised the issue of sangomas being paid while the welfare of players was being neglected.

Sources tell H-Metro that even right now when DeMbare are struggling, some of their officials still visit Rufaro between midnight and the first break of light on match days to perform rituals meant “to help the team.”

Dynamos are not the only club who believe in sangomas.

However, their expenditure on sangomas becomes questionable when they cannot pay their commitments to players leading to sanctions from FIFA.

“I think when one looks at the combined figure of what they owe the two players, it puts everything into context,” a source told H-Metro.

“We are talking of US$18,500. That should not be a huge figure for Dynamos especially when one compares with what Yadah had to pay, something like US$90,000.

“People can understand when you struggle to raise US$90,000 and not when you choose to ignore payment of US$18,500 to such an extent that you end up being suspended from transfers.

“The other day it was Gwekwerere and the case went to FIFA and he won his case. Now we have Paga and Fred and they will have to be paid. Who is next? Urikhob, Frank (Makarati) Illunga, Ziocha, Mathe?”

H-metro