Cape Town – Following his son’s mysterious arrest in Georgia, former Amazulu football player Thulani Cele’s father, Bongani Shongwe, has reportedly pleaded with South Africans and the Department of International Relations to assist with the donation of funds towards his flight tickets to Georgia where he hopes he will be able to free his son.
“I cannot just sit around and wait, I have to travel to Georgia to see how I can help my son. A flight ticket to Georgia is about R13 000 and I do not have that money and would need donations to raise money for a ticket to travel,” IOL quoted Shongwe as saying.
Reports indicated that Thulani left the country on May 4 for trial in Georgia under the impression that he was going to Gagra FC for trials, but upon arrival in Georgia, he discovered that it was all a scam.
The Citizen reported that Thulani called his family on June 3, informing them that he was coming back home.
However, he never arrived home. Instead, his family received a call from a stranger in Georgia informing them that their son had been arrested.
ALSO READ: Diplomats to intervene after SA soccer player Thulani Cele ‘arrested’ in Georgia… family worried
Speaking to SAfm sports team on Monday, distressed Shongwe gave a little bit of insight into his son’s disappearance.
“An agent called Baggio from the Ke Yona team search is the one who organised the trials for Thulani. But as a family we paid for everything which we found to be strange.
“Thulani told us he was having problems at the hotel because Baggio had not paid. He called us crying to say he’s not even eating there. Apparently when my son got there, he was told the team was away and he couldn’t train,” the report quoted Thulani’s father as saying.
The family then reached out to Dirco for assistance which said that diplomats at the Polish Embassy would be tasked with ascertaining the facts around Thulani’s mysterious arrest.
Picture: Facebook/ Fakude Mpilo
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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
