Hlompho Kekana's departure from Mamelodi Sundowns is a hard pill to swallow for his long-serving teammate Kennedy Mweene. Picture: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Kennedy Mweene and Hlompho Kekana, together with Denis Onyango are the only players who have been with Mamelodi Sundowns from the start of Pitso Mosimane’s reign and were still part and parcel of the side even after “Jingles” has left the side.
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The trio formed a strong bond even off the pitch and after Downs held a farewell function for Kekana on Wednesday at Chloorkop, Mweene – like someone who is struggling to accept the passing away of a loved one – said he cannot bid Kekana farewell as he believes he will forever remain part of the Masandawana family.
“This is football, I also don’t know where I will end up one day but I cannot say farewell to him, all I want to say is wish him luck because I appreciate what he has done for Sundowns and I know he is proud of his achievements and he is a very good example to the youngsters. If you look after yourself like “KK” did, you can go far in football and you can always achieve a lot of good things,” he added.
Mweene authored a short love letter to the 36-year-old, who he enjoyed a lot of success with at Sundowns and the duo share 13 league titles between them.
“My brother you have been great, you have been a very good leader and I will always miss you. I have learnt a lot from you and wherever you go, I wish you can be successful like you were at Sundowns and I know that the team you are going to will benefit a lot from your positive energy and leadership,” said Mweene.
“I have achieved a lot with him and wherever he is going, I know he will bring about positive energy because he brings people together. One thing I know about him is that he is a bad loser and that is the most important thing as a player, you must not like losing,” Mweene added.
Kekana enjoyed a 10-year stay at Masandawana where he made over 350 appearances and collected multiple league medals and the 2016 Caf Champions League.
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