Hope Chizuzu Sports Reporter
PREMIERSHIP soccer giants CAPS United could have lost thousands of dollars in their futile bid to enlist the services of midfielder Chris Semakwere and striker Darryl Nyandoro. The Harare giants found out the players misrepresented that they

were free agents when, in fact, they are still contracted to TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Club chief executive, Maxwell Mironga, travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo last month together with Nyandoro to “seal” the deal but returned home empty-handed and frustrated when the Congolese club proved that the players have contracts valid until 2015.
The disappointed Mironga, then negotiated with Mazembe for a season loan, which they agreed to on condition Nyandoro signs a year’s extension on his contract.

Nyandoro duly signed an extension and CAPS United were given the loan deal.
But no sooner had TP Mazembe secretary Ngoy Sendwe signed the loan deal than Nyandoro developed cold feet and opted to stay in Congo to play for the feeder team, Don Bosco, the same club Semakwere is playing for.
Mironga only found out that he was unable to return home with Nyandoro just two hours before the scheduled 11am flight to Harare via Nairobi, Kenya.

“I phoned Darryl to let him join me for breakfast at the hotel so that we are in time for the flight that morning but I started noticing he had other ideas and was not keen. He only came to me later to say he needed to go to the Mazembe office to pick up a copy of his contract.
“I did not understand that as we had finished the contracts issue and had signed the loan deal before the club president (Moise Katumbi Chapwe) at his house.

“But he insisted on going and took a taxi in the company of Chris Semakwere leaving me unsure of our departure. I then decided to also go and check at the same office on my way to the airport upon which we found him there only to be told by the TP Mazembe officials that Nyandoro had decided against going back to CAPS United.

“I felt small and disappointed why he had not told me so himself but had no choice as I had to catch the flight back,” Mironga complained.
Investigations by The Herald can also reveal that CAPS United, who were paying salaries for both Semakwere and Nyandoro since last November, were duped by the players who claimed they did not have contracts with TP Mazembe.

Nyandoro, in fact, apologised publicly in the meeting for misleading CAPS United on the issue of the contract saying he knew he had a contract with TP Mazembe.
Chapwe duly accepted the apology and showed Mironga a copy of the contract signed by Nyandoro on February 20, 2010 which stipulated that he will be receiving a salary of US$5 000 per month for five years plus other bonuses and incentives.

Nyandoro also confirmed that he was receiving the salary, but it is ironic he also pulled a salary at CAPS United whom he had duped into an agreement on the basis that he was a free agent.

To add insult to injury, Nyandoro was pestering club co-director Farai Jere all along to complete the deal so that he could play for CAPS United prompting the committed director to send the club’s chied executive to Congo to finish the deal, only to be met with further disappointment.
“With the way the club has been playing, the coaches felt Nyandoro and Semakwere could add some value to the team but what happened in Congo is frustrating, to say the least.

“After spending a lot of money on the issue, we did not need this and I want to say that players need to be honest with clubs. We felt stupid in Congo to learn that the players were on contract and that they conceded so themselves makes the situation worse.
“That was one of my worst moments. Imagine having spent thousands of dollars in airfares to go and finish a deal, we come back with nothing, betrayed by the same players we dutifully looked after.

“As if that was not enough TP Mazembe accused us of using the Players Union to force their hand over their players,” said a disappointed Mironga.
At the height of the problem with the players, the Players’ Union wrote a strongly worded letter to TP Mazembe castigating them for their conduct, yet the problem was with the players.

Mironga’s club was paying the players hoping they would get the their international transfer certificates to enable them to play for CAPS United.
He had made a provisional registration with the PSL, so that they could play as soon as they received the ITC from Congo.