Pretoria- The father of the former Amazulu soccer player Thulani Cele, who is apparently arrested in Georgia, said there is no proof that his son has been found after several reports claimed that he has has been found.
This comes after soccer agent, Collen Mashawa, told Power FM on Thursday that the 22 year-old from Umlazi has been located.
Breakthrough!!
— PowerSport (@Power987Sport) June 23, 2022
"We have made a breakthrough. There has been leads yesterday with the people on the ground. I shared it with the family. Thualni has been located and we have found out where he is detained." - Collen Baggio Mashawa on Thulani Cele's disappearance in Georgia. pic.twitter.com/YaDEi4p6d7
“I am awaiting more information from Mr Ali, the lawyer who contacted us, to share more details on what the process is. But yes, Thulani has been located,’’ said Mashawa.
However, his father, Bongani Shongwe, told IOL that he can’t be excited over something which does not have proof.
“For now, to me this is just hearsay. I haven’t spoken to him and no one has spoken to him. I would be at ease if at least I speak to him. Then I would know that he’s okay and still alive.
“See, if we have proof that he’s alive and well, then that’s something, but for now, I can’t even get excited over something that I can’t even prove,” Shongwe said.
Shongwe said he wanted to raise money to go to Georgia and search for his son himself but he was told that won’t be easy as he also needs documents to be signed by Georgia officials.
“I really wanted to go there and look for him, but I was told it won’t be that easy because I also need to be in contact with Georgia officials and they must also give me permission to come into their country.”
Shongwe said he is heartbroken with the disappearance of his son but he hopes he will eventually get confirmation that his son is alive and well.
The 22-year-old soccer player, who hoped to break into international football in Europe, enlisted the help of an agent he met while in the Nedbank Ke Yona squad.
Cele travelled under the impression that he was going for trials at Gagra FC, however, he discovered that it was all allegedly a scam upon arrival in Georgia, when the team said they did not know of any trials.
Cele’s trip resulted in his arrest on June 3, the same day that he was meant to travel back home.
The family was notified of his arrest, however there were no reasons given for the arrest.
IOL