Opinion

Cheated runners urged to open a case

By Kgomotso Mokoena
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Athletics South Africa says it is strengthening the oversight processes to make sure that the athletes are paid. / Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
It’s exactly five months since the great Soweto Marathon heist was executed to perfection. If you thought Robert de Niro and Al Pacino were great in the movie Heat, or that Kevin Spacey was unmatched in the Usual Suspects, then you must check out the trick that the Soweto Marathon organisers, Non Profit Company (NPC), pulled on the unsuspecting
marathon winners.
NPC spokesperson Jabu Mbuli, who was in the forefront before the race and now, just like Kyser Soze, seems to have, all of a sudden, gained mythical status among the athletics fraternity –like Soweto’s heavy smoke from the chimneys, he has disappeared into thin air with the winners’ prize money.
The race took place on November 29, and to this day, none of the top finishers has received a cent for their exploits. Lesotho’s Joseph Seutloali is owed R250 000 after he won the men’s race. Mzansi’s Ntsindiso Mphakathi was hot on his heels, coming in second place, with Onalenna Khonkhobe completing the podium.
In the women’s race, Margaret Jepchumba of Kenya and Elizabeth Mokoloma of Zambia
finished in that order, making sure that road-racing queen Gerda Steyn would come out third on her debut, and what seemed to be her last after all the shenanigans.
Steyn, who cruised to hern seventh consecutive Totalsports Two Oceans Marathons on Saturday, poured her heart out on MetroFM when she said it was so heartbreaking to “work and not get compensated”.
Steyn mentioned that athletes invest a lot in training and preparations for races, and it is so wrong and depressing not to get what is due to them after competing in these races.
Mbuli and his cohorts cannot be reached, and they have been AWOL for months now, and the race, which is supposed to be the most historical and tourist-attracting machinery, is left with egg on its face.
Earlier this year, Mbuli bought some time and attributed the “delayed’ prize money payments to outstanding doping test results.
Now, the results are out, and it seems the NPC people have surely headed for the hills.
This after a lot of effort and funding was put into rescuing the race and pumping some life into it after a lot of in-fighting and boardroom squabbles.
Hollywoodbets Athletics Club and other running teams do not want to be associated with the race anymore. The race main sponsor, African Bank, has done its part and paid the organisers, a non-profit company, which seems to have made a sprint with the prize money.
But there could be a solution to this nightmare; it’s time for Soweto Marathon winners to open a case with police. Kaizer Kganyago, a seasoned communications expert, recently joined the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) as national spokesperson.
He joined the NPA to strengthen public trust and communication, leveraging extensive experience from previous roles at the SABC and the Special Investigating Unit. Kganyago is of the opinion that the Soweto Marathon shenanigans amount to fraud and urged the runners to come forward and open a case.
“The winners can open a case with the SAPS. How it works is that the police investigate, and once there is evidence and once they have prepared a docket, they will bring it to the NPA for a decision based on the evidence. If the evidence is enough, we will pounce,” said Kganyago.
  • The Soweto Marathon heist occurred five months ago and was executed flawlessly.
  • The article compares the heist's cleverness to famous heist movies like "Heat" and "The Usual Suspects."
  • The Soweto Marathon organizers, a Non-Profit Company (NPC), orchestrated a deceptive trick on the marathon winners.
  • Details of the trick played on the winners are not disclosed in the summary.
  • Full story is available via the Sunday World e-edition link provided.
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It’s exactly five months since the great Soweto Marathon heist was executed to perfection. If you thought Robert de Niro and Al Pacino were great in the movie Heat, or that Kevin Spacey was unmatched in the Usual Suspects, then you must check out the trick that the Soweto Marathon organisers, Non Profit Company (NPC), pulled on the unsuspecting
marathon winners.
NPC spokesperson Jabu Mbuli, who was in the forefront before the race and now, just like Kyser Soze, seems to have, all of a sudden, gained mythical status among the athletics fraternity –like Soweto’s heavy smoke from the chimneys, he has disappeared into thin air with the winners’ prize money.
The race took place on November 29, and to this day, none of the top finishers has received a cent for their exploits. Lesotho’s Joseph Seutloali is owed R250 000 after he won the men’s race. Mzansi’s Ntsindiso Mphakathi was hot on his heels, coming in second place, with Onalenna Khonkhobe completing the podium.
In the women’s race, Margaret Jepchumba of Kenya and Elizabeth Mokoloma of Zambia
finished in that order, making sure that road-racing queen Gerda Steyn would come out third on her debut, and what seemed to be her last after all the shenanigans.
Steyn, who cruised to hern seventh consecutive Totalsports Two Oceans Marathons on Saturday, poured her heart out on MetroFM when she said it was so heartbreaking to “work and not get compensated”.
Steyn mentioned that athletes invest a lot in training and preparations for races, and it is so wrong and depressing not to get what is due to them after competing in these races.
Mbuli and his cohorts cannot be reached, and they have been AWOL for months now, and the race, which is supposed to be the most historical and tourist-attracting machinery, is left with egg on its face.
Earlier this year, Mbuli bought some time and attributed the “delayed’ prize money payments to outstanding doping test results.
Now, the results are out, and it seems the NPC people have surely headed for the hills.
This after a lot of effort and funding was put into rescuing the race and pumping some life into it after a lot of in-fighting and boardroom squabbles.
Hollywoodbets Athletics Club and other running teams do not want to be associated with the race anymore. The race main sponsor, African Bank, has done its part and paid the organisers, a non-profit company, which seems to have made a sprint with the prize money.
But there could be a solution to this nightmare; it’s time for Soweto Marathon winners to open a case with police. Kaizer Kganyago, a seasoned communications expert, recently joined the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) as national spokesperson.
He joined the NPA to strengthen public trust and communication, leveraging extensive experience from previous roles at the SABC and the Special Investigating Unit. Kganyago is of the opinion that the Soweto Marathon shenanigans amount to fraud and urged the runners to come forward and open a case.
“The winners can open a case with the SAPS. How it works is that the police investigate, and once there is evidence and once they have prepared a docket, they will bring it to the NPA for a decision based on the evidence. If the evidence is enough, we will pounce,” said Kganyago.