Pirates have not suspended or sacked Lorch – yet

Orlando Pirates said on Wednesday that they are not taking any further action against Thembinkosi Lorch, until they have studied the details of his guilty verdict for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

The Randburg Magistrates Court on Tuesday found Lorch guilty of assaulting his then girlfriend, Fundiswa Mathithibala on September 6, 2020. Sentencing will take place on July 28.

Pirates released a statement on Wednesday saying that they believed Lorch had undergone sufficient rehabilitation around the incident, including taking anger management classes.

They also said, however, that this was before the guilty verdict was handed down.

“Orlando Pirates Football Club notes the decision handed down by the Randburg Magistrates Court regarding Mr Thembinkosi Lorch on Sunday,” read the statement.

“As a club we reiterate our stance against violence perpetrated against women and children and as a result when this matter came to light in 2020, the club carried out its own investigation .

“The club charged Lorch with serious misconduct. He pleaded guilty to the charge and the club imposed a sanction of a monetary fine and ordered him to undergo anger management therapy.

“Mr Lorch also informed the club that he had instructed attorneys to assist him with the criminal charges against him and they intended to approach the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to make representations regarding the charges against him so that he could got through a diversion programme. He further advised that he was attending sessions with Dr Nomsa Nkuna-Boikanyo as part of his rehabilitation.

“The club approved that he completes therapy with Dr Nkuna-Boikanyo instead of running a parallel process organised by the club.

“Mr Lorch informed us that he attended the anger management therapy and completed the prescribed number of sessions. Since then, Mr Lorch has not been involved (in) any similar incident or an incident involving violence. We are confident that the anger management therapy were (sic) an appropriate corrective measure.

Pirates wait on Lorch

Despite this, Pirates have resolved to act again after the guilty verdict.

“However, Mr Lorch’s representations to the DPP were not successful and the criminal proceedings continued.

“Today, on June 6, 2023, Mr Lorch was found guilty of assault (gender-based violence) and will be sentenced in due course. We currently do not have the full details of the conviction and sentencing date and have requested Mr Lorch to provide these details.

“Orlando Pirates will not make any further comment until this process is complete.”

Pirates did suspend midfielder Ben Motshwari in September 2021 after he was charged with assault, though he was subsequently reinstated after the charges against him were dropped.

Lorch has been found guilty, however, which may well ultimately lead to far more serious repercussions for the Buccaneers star.