Orlando Pirates strongman Benson Mhlongo is the latest in a long line of headline grabbers after he and five other individuals — who are not soccer players — appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court last week for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. The cops said the firearm, which was loaded with 13 bullets, was allegedly found hidden in the boot of a white BMW belonging to the former Bafana Bafana star.
This “gat” apparently had its serial number filed off and it’s anybody’s guess where this thing has been.
Mhlongo is fresh out of luck if it turns out that pigeons are not the only thing that this firearm has shot recently.
It gets better because it later turned out that one of Mhlongo’s companions has a pending murder case against him. They are all expected to return to court on November 3 after they were granted bail.
The charge Mhlongo is facing carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and the police reportedly confirmed that all six accused will be tried with the same charges if no one admits to the ownership of this gun.
Jah neh!
Given the fact that Mhlongo is held in such high esteem by so many, his arrest came as a shock. The man was supposed to be at home recuperating after the sickening injury that nearly ended his career last October.
That injury sent gasps across the country as Mhlongo twisted his kneecap out of position and damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and patella in a game against AmaZulu that ended in a 2-1 home defeat for Pirates.
While many thought that his career was over, those of us who have picked his brain over the years know that the man is a fearless fighter and was never going to take this injury lying down. In the many interviews he has given since the injury, the utility player was adamant that he had come back from many similar injuries in the past and this one would be no different.
So we all assumed that he was working very hard towards reclaiming his place in the Pirates and Bafana line-ups.
We figured that the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup would be motivation enough for him to get back on his feet. So his arrest was certainly unexpected.
Many have suggested that his injury might be the very reason that he finds himself in his current situation. The man has too much time on his hands now, and troublemakers know that he is sitting at home.
He is one of the more level- headed players in SA and it is really a damn shame that his name has been dragged into such a mess. His wife of a little more than a year can’t be sleeping very easily at night.
And then there was the convoluted story that involved Bafana striker Katlego Mphela, yet another gun and an alleged armed brawl over a woman. This particular story is so convoluted that the soapie Generations looks simple in comparison.
But to make a long story shot — er, short — someone allegedly threatened to shoot Mphela’s kneecap and end his career after an argument over a pretty young thing. The story goes that the cops got involved, but in the end no one was arrested.
I don’t know about you but these stories are really tiring and it’s upsetting that we have to keep reading about players misbehaving. These guys are role models and you have to hope that they remember this each time they venture out of their homes.
Eish, all this is enough to make your head spin.
Source- BusinessDay.co.za
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