Mikia Kalati
LCS goalkeeper Sam Ketsekile is still traumatised following a transfer scam that saw him being duped into traveling to Pretoria purportedly to join ABSA Premiership giants Mamelodi Sundowns.
Ketsekile told our sister paper the Lesotho Times that after an impressive performance in Likuena’s 1-0 win over Tanzania in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Setsoto Stadium, he was contacted by Sundowns to negotiate deal at the club.
The veteran goalkeeper also told the Lesotho Times that he had been in contact with Ugandan goalkeeper, Denis Onyango, who plays for Sundowns who had linked him with the side’s goalkeeper coach.
However, the goalkeeper says he was surprised when he arrived in South Africa to find that the people whom he believed to be Sundowns officials were thugs who had hacked into his phone demanding money from all his contacts in the phone including his family.
He stated that they also stole some of his belonging that were in his car including his passport and clothes.
Masheshena, as LCS is affectionately known, have since told this publication that Ketsekile has been given time off and will not play in their clash with LMPS this afternoon.
“The player was shattered by the whole episode and the club has given him time off to recover. We have also arranged for him to get professional help to be able to recover from the trauma,” LCS general manager Lehlohonolo Matlosa said.
Matlosa also stated that they have struggled to make contact with Sundowns to alert them about people pretending to be their officials scamming football players.
“We called their office but we did not find anyone so we will try again to ensure that we alert them.
“We cannot blame them because we were able to see from the conversation that we had with the person who pretend to be Ketsekile that something was not right, especially when he was demanding money from us,” Matlosa said.
Meanwhile, Ketsekile told this publication that he has opened a case with the Lesotho Mounted Police (LMPS) and is confident that they will get to the bottom of the matter.
The lanky goalkeeper also stated that they visited the South African High Commission to seek assistance on the matter.
“I do not have a lot to say at this stage because the matter is now being handled by the police but I lost a lot of my belongings including my clothes and passport.
“However, what I can tell you is that I was scammed and those people have manipulated my phones to get money from people close to me as well as my family,” Ketsekile said.
Meanwhile, Sundowns goalkeeper, Onyanya, who had been in contact with Ketsekile about possibilities of playing in South Africa, has since used his social media platforms to announce that his phone was hacked while he was on national duty with Uganda.
“Hi guys, my number has been hacked, so if someone asks you for money, please ignore them. It’s not me, I was in Uganda,” Onyango said.
Contacted for a comment over Ketsekile, Sundowns general manager, Yogesh Singh, told this publication that the Brazilians never invited the Likuena goalkeeper for negotiations over a contract as it was widely spread in the Mountain Kingdom.
“No, we never had such a player at the club,” Singh said.
Bloemfontein Celtic assistant coach and Lesotho legend, Lehlohonolo Seema, admitted that he was hurt to learn about Ketsekile’s ordeal.
Seema, who had a long career in South Africa playing for Celtic and Orlando Pirates, also warned local players to be careful because the trend of scamming players through transfer offers has become popular.
“I’m hurt Ketsekile’s experience, I don’t blame him because it’s a dream for every player to go for greener pastures.
“A good example of a similar story is that of a former teammate at Pirates, who came to Celtic after he was told he is going to side with the club but we were all surprised because there was no such a thing,” Seema said.
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