HIGHLANDERS head coach Benjani Mwaruwari has gone three months without pay, despite remaining unbeaten in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League. The 47-year-old, who joined Bosso in January, has received just one salary payment since taking charge.
But the money problems run deeper than a missed payslip.
Several contractual promises remain unfulfilled. Mwaruwari is still waiting on a club phone, laptop, match bonuses, and accommodation basics meant to be covered when he signed.
Seven games into the season, he’s yet to taste defeat. But he’s also yet to taste victory. All seven league matches have ended in draws, leaving fans frustrated and the coach unpaid.
A tense meeting last week between Mwaruwari and Highlanders CEO Denzil Mnkandla ended without resolution. Mnkandla reportedly told the coach the club isn’t to blame for the delays.
That points to a bigger issue: the structure of Wicknell Chivayo’s headline-grabbing US$1 million sponsorship deal for 2026. The money doesn’t go straight to Highlanders. Instead, it’s routed through curator Jabulani Nkomo and Chivayo’s lawyers, who control disbursements.
“Every month the club must generate a note to Nkomo listing what is due to the coach, including results-based bonuses,” explained a source close to the arrangement.
“Nkomo in turn instructs Chivayo’s lawyer to execute payment. It appears that the process has broken down somewhere and is creating this unfortunate situation.”
Club officials are privately fuming. One senior official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity, said Bosso would rather receive funds to improve transparency and audit accountability.
“Right now we’re just a middleman in our own deal,” the official said.
“It’s no way to run a club.”
Mnkandla, Mwaruwari, and Nkomo all declined to comment when approached.
For Mwaruwari, the irony is sharp. He’s delivered stability on the pitch no losses in seven but the boardroom chaos threatens to undermine it. Dressing room morale, player confidence, and his own authority all hang in the balance whether the club can fix its payment chain.
With Bosso drawing every week and their coach working for free, the question now is which breaks first: the winless run, or Benjani’s patience.
