E270 000 SWALLOWS SPRINTER ON AUCTION

MBABANE – What used to be Mbabane Swallows’ travelling bus, will have a new owner next week.

The 2017 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 515 CDI P/van, which parades the Birds’ branding all over its body, is up for auction and the reserve price is E270 000. 

The Sprinter belonged to the club before Princess Lungile, wife to late former Mbabane Swallows boss Victor Gamedze, repossessed it. She did so because the bus was reportedly in E300 000 arrears with EswatiniBank. The bank has since employed Rexy Investment as the auctioneer of the vehicle.

The 22-seater diesel Sprinter with 51 000km in its mileage, has been put up for auction at the instruction of EswatiniBank by sealed bids. “Duly instructed by EswatiniBank we are privileged to sell the vehicle by sealed bids,” read a communiqué from the auctioneer. 

A sealed bid auction is a type of auction process in which all bidders simultaneously submit sealed bids to the auctioneer, so that no bidder knows how much the other auction participants have bid. The highest bidder is usually declared the winner of the bidding process.

According to the auctioneer, the registration and acceptance for bids started on Tuesday last week, with a refundable deposit of E3 000 and the closing date for submission of bids is on Monday next week at 4pm. 

Bids

Venue for submission of bids is at Rexy Investment (Pty) Ltd at SUFIAW Building, ground floor, Dzeliwe Street opposite Websters next to Royston Signs, Mbabane. 

Princess Lungile’s lawyer, Mlungisi Khumalo, confirmed that the bus was up for auction when sought for comment yesterday. 

This publication had the privilege to interview Princess Lungile on the matter and that was back on March 2, 2020. She explained that she took the decision to repossess the bus because it owed at EswatiniBank, where it was bought on loan by the late Gamedze. 

She explained that she reached the decision to repossess the bus because it was owing the aforementioned amount at EswatiniBank and nobody was paying the required E16 000 monthly instalments. 

Princess Lungile was previously quoted putting in plain words that, “I took the decision to repossess the bus because the bank produced a statement reflecting that it was owed E300 000, including arrears. If Swallows still want the bus, they can approach the bank and negotiate settlement of the arrears.”

Contacted for comment Mbabane Swallows Communications and Marketing Manager  Mancoba Mabuza said he did not have a mandate to communicate about former assets of the club but only current ones.

New

“If I may add, the Times published a story about our brand new bus (sprinter) and it’s a known fact that we got a brand new one, why would we be interested in an old bus when we have a new one. 

“Look at it this way: you go to Luciano and buy a new pair of shoes, use it and later get a new one. Do you, honestly, think you’d be interested in an auction of the old pair of shoes?” Mabuza queried.

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