Two Marumo Gallants football club officials are still being held hostage in Libya by hotel owner Ali Alzargha who is refusing to release the officials until all the money he says is owed to him is paid in full.
Team media officer Rufus Matsena and team physio Tebogo Dholomo have been held for more than two weeks.
Gallants did not have a direct flight to Libya and had to travel via Türkiye to get a connecting flight.
They missed their initial connecting flight, and allegedly asked the Libyan businessman to arrange a chartered flight for Gallants to travel to Benghazi.
SAFA’s Manager for Football Mzwandile Maforvane says it was found that the businessman inflated the price.
“Then when they were supposed to fly back, I am told the owner Mr Sello had to make an arrangement for the payment for the chartered flight from Instanbul to Benghazi, which we are told lasted for only for about one and a half hour. It’s then that they realised that the agent that had assisted them had inflated the prices to 35-thousand US dollars, upon requesting the detailed invoice.”
Maforvane says Gallants refused to pay after realising that they were charged almost six times the original price, leading to the two club officials being held hostage.
“The team owner is not against paying, but he wanted to get a detailed invoice from a person who had made those arrangements. They decided that they should engage the air company that was responsible for their flight. (It’s then) that they realised that they paid about 6-thousand US dollars, which is then about six times what this guy is asking for.”
SABCNews Headlines @17H00 | 04 April 2023
