It didn’t come as much of a surprise when I spoke to Mama Gladys Manyathela, the mother of the late, Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana striker, Lesley Manyathela, who tragically passed away in a car accident on the N1 near Musina on 9 August 2003.Lesley’s funeral was attended by the rank and file of South African football and yes promises, as is the norm at most funerals, were made which included his former team Orlando Pirates taking care of the family in the best way possible. For starters, Mama Gladys was promised an upgrade to her house, which 17 years later has not happened, though she has made upgrades using her own resources and not those promised. The stadium in Musina, renamed the Lesley Manyathela Stadium in his honour is, today, an eyesore, coming short of a scene reminiscent of an obliterated Afghanistan. Mama Gladys says the pathetic state of the stadium cannot be allowed to remain as it is not synonymous with who her son was. The Musina Local Municipality, besides a commitment made in 2019 promising R1 million to rehabilitate the stadium, has not done anything and have been non-committal to date. Mama Gladys has brandished them storytellers who cannot be trusted and if anything, seem to have something against her. In 2004, Mama Gladys flew to Cameroon to receive the award for Africa’s Best Goal of the Year on behalf of her son and there was prize money which then SAFA CEO, Raymond Hack, who was also executor of Lesley’s estate, says was paid to Orlando Pirates and then in turn would have paid out whatever is due to the Manyathela family. None of that has ever seen the light of day. The top goal scorer award of the Premier Soccer League was also renamed the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot Award and since 2003, to date, Mama Gladys has only been invited twice to the PSL Awards ceremony and she feels neglected and forgotten. Mama Gladys is a heartbroken woman and mother, though an avid Orlando Pirates supporter but she concedes she has lost all the respect she had for the team. This is just a sad story of one the many other women of our country who go through a lot of these hardships perpetuated in majority of cases by men. Will it ever end? And if so what will it take to end? Lesley Manyathela’s spirit clearly is not at ease amidst all the imbalanced treatment of his family and in particular, his mother. I guess it holds true that never believe everything that is said at funerals, whether it is the pastor saying it or a close family member.
