‘Upset’ Lerumo Lions boss responds to Siwahla claims

Lerumo Lions chairlady Sibongile Marokana has reacted to recent comments made by Mkhanyiseli Siwahla about the club following his departure.Siwahla recently left Lions to join ABC Motsepe Foundation outfit Cape Town Spurs, where he was appointed as the club’s Under-18 coach.
ALSO READ: Heartbreak for fans as Kaizer Chiefs-Pirates Legends Derby cancelledFollowing his exit, Siwahla claimed in an interview with FARPost that he had built Lions from nothing to what it is now. “When I was at Lerumo Lions, I accomplished a lot there. So, I believe I built that team from nothing to what it is now. I am proud of myself. I was able to create something from nothing, and it has become something big,” Siwahla is quoted as saying.
“At the same time, I managed to produce players, some of whom are now playing professionally. They come from my hands-raw talent that I selected from trials. I identified them with my eyes, and they made it.”

‘Mkhanyiseli does not make Lerumo’

Responding to these claims, Marokana said she was really upset about that Siwahla interview.”I felt it was more about Lerumo, and Mkhanyiseli does not make Lerumo,” she said.
“For me, that was very offensive-that he cannot stand on his own to say he started the team from scratch and talk about his capabilities regarding what he can do and produce without adding Lerumo.

“It’s as if he needs to stay relevant by using Lerumo’s name. He is not part of the Lerumo brand. He never started Lerumo, and he never contributed a single cent to it. It annoys me when someone wants to use it as a platform or as a way for him to get through to other platforms. That upsets me very much,” added Marokana before warning Siwahla against “biting the hand that feeds you.””If the man has done all the things he says he has done for the club, why should I, as a stranger, be the one to help him out? That’s basically saying I did nothing for them. But there was nobody around. I was a stranger; I didn’t know him prior to meeting him while working together at the club.
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“I went through a lot of sacrifices to help bail the man out of his problems. You know one thing that you don’t do: never, ever, by any chance, bite the hand that feeds you. That’s very important because tomorrow, you don’t know where you will end up again.”