Highlanders Football Club chief executive officer, Denzil Mnkandla, has been suspended amid allegations of inflated expenditure linked to the team’s recent tour of Botswana.
Mnkandla, a former FC Platinum administrator, reportedly received a verbal suspension notice on Tuesday, with a formal written communication expected from club chairman Kenneth Mhlophe on Wednesday, in line with an executive committee resolution.
According to insiders, the total cost of the Botswana trip was allegedly overstated by up to US$20 000 above the actual expenditure. It is further claimed that middlemen were brought into the procurement process by a senior executive member to handle certain logistical arrangements.
Investigations suggest that standard procurement procedures may have been violated, particularly the club’s requirement that at least three quotations be obtained from service providers. Despite this deviation from policy, both chairman Mhlophe and the board member in charge of finance, Nkani Khoza, are said to have approved the disputed figures.
This development raises further questions about internal oversight, as the club’s guidelines clearly mandate competitive bidding before authorising any procurement.
Efforts to obtain a comment from Mhlophe were unsuccessful, with calls reportedly going unanswered.
Sources also revealed that both Mhlophe and Khoza may face suspension as the inquiry widens. It is understood that Khoza raised concerns during the Botswana trip after noticing potential overcharging by the lodge where the team stayed for six days, prompting further scrutiny into the entire arrangement.
