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Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS have demoted their goalkeepers’ coach veteran Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu to the junior structures and replaced him with legendary Bosso keeper Peter “Oxo” Nkomo.

Zulu was found guilty of misconduct and fined $700 following a disciplinary hearing conducted by a three-man tribunal.

The club’s executive has however left the doors open for him to negotiate a downward review.

His co-accused assistant coach Amini Soma-Phiri was spared.

Zulu and Soma-Phiri had been on suspension with full pay for more than a month after their personal clashes were deemed poisonous, as most spats occurred in front of players.

The Bosso leadership felt the gaffers’ unbecoming behaviour was badly affecting the team.

Peter “Oxo” Nkomo

In the absence of the duo, developmental side Bosso 90 coach Melusi “Mabaleka” Sibanda had been assisting head coach Erol Akbay with the senior team.

The three-member disciplinary panel made up of city lawyer and former member of the Zifa Southern Region disciplinary tribunal Zibusiso Ncube, ex-Highlanders’ secretary-general Andrew Tapela and Bosso member Innocent Batsani Ncube heard the case and made recommendations to the club’s executive committee.

Highlanders opted for an independent disciplinary tribunal “for transparency, fairness and natural justice”.

The Highlanders’ executive committee met on Sunday to deliberate on the guilty verdict reached by the panel and is believed to have endorsed it without alterations.

“Tsano has been relegated to the juniors, Soma-Phiri remains and naturally gets back to his job beginning tomorrow ahead of the league match against Bulawayo City on Thursday. Peter Nkomo will take charge of the goalkeepers until the end of the season,” said a source.

Amini Soma-Phiri

Efforts to reach Bosso chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube were fruitless as his mobile phone continuously rang unanswered.

The source said Tsano’s biggest undoing was his unsanctioned decision to hold a press conference soon after being suspended and seemed to accuse the club executive of having a vendetta against his professionalism.

“This thing could have gone either way, but everyone was taken aback by Zulu’s utterances in the media soon after the suspensions, yet to the contrary, Soma-Phiri followed the procedure and never seemed to interfere with the process,” said the source.

@skhumoyo2000