An inyanga says Bafana Bafana will not win another match if he is not paid R90 000 owed to him.
Sibonelo “Matatazela” Madela, an inyanga from Ulundi in KwaZulu-Natal, claims he helped Bafana Bafana during World Cup 2010 and says Bafana Bafana must forget about ever winning again if the SA Football Association (Safa) does not cough up the R90 000 they owe him as he has locked up all their soccer goals in a bottle of muti.
Madela was on SABC 1’s Soccer Zone this week and said that the only way to unlock the goals was for Safa to pay him for his services in the Bafana Bafana game against France during the World Cup where they won 2-1.
Speaking to our sister paper Isolezwe, Madela said he met Safa officials through Kwenzakwakhe Ngwenya of Safa KZN. “I told them I would provide my services for R150 000 but they said it was too much. Then we agreed upon R100 000, but they have only paid me R10 000, which means they still owe me R90 000,” said Madela.
Safa spokesperson Dominic Chivamhi said Safa had never approached Madela but that he was one of many South Africans who approached the association during the “euphoria of the World Cup”.
“(People) came forward to help the nation and these included pastors, preachers, prophets and inyangas,” he said.
Chimhavu said the vice-president of Safa, Mwelo Nonkonyana, had decided to give Madela R10 000 out of “his own good will”.
“We could not turn away people who were offering their services,” he said. According to Chimhavu, Madela was a chancer who was “riding on the emotions of the public and the fact that the team is not doing well”.
“There was no contract entered into between this gentleman and Safa and we consider what he is doing as pure extortion,” said Chimhavu.
“We can’t be and we won’t be held to ransom by this gentleman.”
Phephisile Maseko of the Traditional Healers Organisation said that it was common practice among soccer teams all over Africa to seek the services of an inyanga.
“Many inyangas have helped big clubs to win but it’s … a private matter between the practitioner and the patient,” said Maseko.
"You may have ability and good strikers but in soccer anything can happen and luck is a major factor,” Maseko added.
After the insert of Madela on Soccer Zone, comments flooded into the show and the programme’s Facebook page. Some people pleaded with Safa to pay the inyanga so that things could get better for the team while others dismissed the inyanga saying that Bafana needed skill, not muti.
“Everywhere in the world, especially in football, muti is used and countries do well, for example in Brazil I heard they use snakes as their craft and look what they did to football history here in SA – so paying nyanga won’t be a bad thing,” commented Landi Aubrey.
Mokgethi Moroe agreed, writing “They… must not mess with someone’s ancestors, this is serious”. But sceptic Siyabulela Blayi commented, “Oh please what a joke! Don’t you guys have a better topic than this one?”
Madela has warned that Bafana Bafana will only win friendly matches and will not succeed in the World Cup 2014 in Brazil – unless he is paid. - Bongeka Gumede