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SIBUSISO MANANA DIES!

07/05/2017 01:46:00 BY CHRIS DLAMINI

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MBABANE – ‘Sakha buhlungu khona la mvakwendlu yemsakato. Sakhela bonkhe lesidlala nabo’ is what he would say on national radio SBIS’ Sport Show when referring to the pain they inflicted on their opposition being drawn from the tiny Prince of Wales Ground.

That is the late Mbabane Swallows’ CEO Sibusiso Manana, a well decorated official whose experience has seen him win countless Best PRO Awards over the years as he diligently served the club he was and the team that was him.
Manana succumbed to an undisclosed illness while undergoing treatment at the Mbabane Government Hospital on Friday night. His club, during a press conference yesterday at La Casserole Restaurant inside the capital city, confirmed the sad news, which has certainly come as a big shock for the local football fraternity.

His demise comes at a time when Swallows are due to fly off to Tunisia next Thursday for their first Total CAF Confederation Cup group stage match against SC Sfaxien, which will be the first leg tie next weekend.
“Ngivusele bonkhe labalalele ikakhulu naba labasedvute nenhlitiyo yami Umkhonto KaShaka (I greet all listeners more especially those close to my heart, Umkhonto KaShaka)” was one of his usual quotes on radio.
Speaking at the press conference, Swallows boss and PLS Chairman Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze, surrounded by the club’s General Manager Sandile ‘Beyond 2000’ Zwane, who is also national team Sihlangu manager and in the club’s National Supporters Committee (NSC) among others, said he was simply ‘irreplaceable’.

“We are here on behalf of the entire Mbabane Swallows family to confirm the news that our CEO Sibusiso Manana is no more. He is someone who has been with us while some of us were even players while he administrated. He has over 20 years administration experience and with this current team he has over 14 years so you can imagine our loss,” said Gamedze.

He said Manana was one of the best administrators in the continent with a CAF certificate, which is why he was assisting even their rivals on registration issues and international clearances as that requires electronic communication with CAF.
“We started this journey as Swallows administrators at a young age as we had a vision to try and change the club. Just when we are reaping the fruits of our work he has got to leave us so sadly and it has hurt us because there’s nobody else like him in the whole country,” said Gamedze with a hurting voice.