Retired Bafana Bafana stars Aaron Mokoena and David Nyathi were robbed at gunpoint at the South African Football Association (Safa) technical centre, known as Fun Valley resort, after thugs stormed into the facility in the early hours of Friday morning.
The suspects stole their valuables, such as laptops, cellphones, and watches, and also took security guards hostage. The thugs also demanded Mokoena’s car keys and put the stolen goods inside the vehicle, which they then used to flee the scene.
Said a well-placed insider: “We suspect that it is an inside job. The criminal elements knew exactly who was in the resort. They held the security guards hostage and demanded that they take them to the rooms where Mokoena and Nyathi were sleeping.
“They started at Mokoena’s room, got the security to call him and to open the door. Mokoena woke up and they kicked the door as he was opening and entered the room.
“They then grabbed Mokoena and took him to Nyathi’s room where they called him with Mokoena’s cellphone and repeated the same tactic. As they were loading their loot into Mokoena’s car, Nyathi escaped and ran for safety. They then drove off in Mokoena’s car.”
“Yes, it is true. We are just trying to find out if they are okay,” said another high-ranking official. We have issues with this new security company that is in charge. There has been a lot of issues since they were brought in and there are talks about cancelling their contract. We are in the process of finding out what happened,” he said.
Mokoena is a former Bafana captain and holds the record as the highest-capped SA player, while Nyathi is a renowned retired defender who was a part of the famous team that won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The duo was last year roped in by Safa as chief and assistant chief scouts, respectively.
In December, Safa vice-president Linda Zwane announced Nyathi would take over as SA Under-17 coach.
The resort, on which Safa spent about R70-million in 2015, is used by the federation to house junior national teams, coaches and some admin staff.
The resort is intended to become Safa’s one-stop shop for accommodation, training and conferencing.
The 38-hectare property, situated on the Golden Highway in the south of Johannesburg, was very popular in the 1990s. Visitors are still welcomed into the facility for day and overnight visits at the resort.
