Andile Jali and Musa Nyatama, former Marumo Gallants midfielder and coach, respectively, want access to the club’s monthly R2.3-million Premier Soccer League (PSL) grant to pay the money they are owed by the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg-based outfit.
The club approached the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg last month on an urgent basis to inter-dict the National Soccer League (NSL), from deducting amounts from its monthly grants and paying those amounts to Jali and Nyatama pending the finalisation of review proceedings and appeals pending before the SA Football Association (Safa).
The NSL did not oppose the urgent application but Jali and Nyatama did.
Marumo Gallants wanted to stop the deductions as it used the grant for operational requirements.
Earlier this year, Safa made the decision that Marumo Gallants had not complied with the application process and in the absence thereof the appeal had lapsed.
The club may well be able to request condonation for the late filing but in the absence of it doing so, Safa regarded the appeal as having lapsed, according Judge Shanaaz Mia’s ruling last month.
The judge found that the club instituted the review in April but did not seek interim relief and only launched its first urgent interdict application in June.
Its review application was dismissed in July because Marumo Gallants had not established the requisite capacity to institute it.
After the judgment came to its attention, it consulted its attorneys and authorised fresh proceedings in July.
“The applicant (Marumo Gallants) acted promptly after the dismissal, but that dismissal did not create a new underlying cause of urgency. The present application merely cured the defect in the earlier pro-ceedings,” reads the judgment.
Judge Mia found that the enforcement risk remained the risk which the club had been aware of since June and importantly earlier than that date when it became aware of the looming threat of deductions from its grants in February 2026.
According to the judgment, Marumo Gallants had anticipated a deduction will be made towards the end of August and the June deadline passed without a deduction.
“No deduction was made during July. The assertion that the dismissal of the first application ‘paved the way’ for a deduction in August is an inference, unsupported by a subsequent demand or confirmation from the first respondent (NSL),” said Judge Mia. The judge continued: “The prejudice alleged is essentially financial. The applicant has not shown that any loss cannot be addressed through repayment, restitution or damages if the review ultimately succeeds”. Judge Mia said Marumo Gallants may also prosecute the pending review on an expedited basis or seek properly formulated preservation or suspension relief on evidence demonstrating an imminent deduction and an inability to recover the money.
She added that the founding papers do not explain why these remedies would not afford substantial redress.
Marumo Gallants had alleged that the grant is required to pay salaries and meet the expenses necessary to honour its fixtures.
In addition, the club further alleged that Jali and Nyatama were unemployed, have no executable assets and will dissipate the money.
However Judge Mia found that these were material assertions but they were unsupported by financial statements, payroll records, cash-flow evidence, fixture expenses or evidence concerning the retired players' means.
“The allegation that the respondents (Jali and Nyatama) will spend the money and will be unable to repay it is speculative,” the judge found.
Marumo Gallants was ordered by the PSL dispute resolution chamber (DRC) to pay Nyatama nearly R5.3-m for outstanding salaries.
He was paid R150,000 a month as a player and later got R120,000 as a coach, with his contract set to run until the end of June next year.
Also in March last year, Jali lost his R5.7-m contractual damages case against his former club Moroka Swallows, whose status was bought by Marumo Gallants, after the PSL DRC dismissed his case.
Marumo Gallants inherited some of Swallows’ contractual obligations with their previous staff and relocated the club to Bloemfontein after the acquisition of the status.
Jali had also claimed compensation for unfair dismissal after his contract was terminated following Marumo Gallants players going on an “illegal strike” in December 2023 after several of them demanded early payment before Christmas and boycotted a fixture.
The former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates mid-fielder had demanded to be paid in full and to be reinstated back into the team, but his case was struck off the roll by the DRC.
He was reportedly on an initial salary of between R185,000 and R203,500 per month. Marumo Gallants was also ordered to only pay Jali the sum R880,000 for his image rights.
Earlier this year, Moroka Swallows threatened to cancel the deal due to unpaid debts and alleged breaches of contract.
The Dube Birds wanted to have the 2024 contract cancelled that initially allowed Marumo Gallants to take over their top-flight status.
The club wants a high court order to reclaim their place in South Africa’s top football division.
In its claim Swallows indicated that Marumo Gallants failed to meet key payment obligations, particularly the portion meant to cover tax liabilities with SA Revenue Service, which has grown due to penalties.
Moroka Swallows also alleged that Marumo Gallants sold a second-tier franchise that had been ceded as security for the unpaid balance without informing them, potentially compounding the breach. The team, formerly based at Soweto’s Dobsonville Stadium, then cancelled the sale and launched an urgent high court application, seeking that the PSL restore their top-flight status and strip Marumo Gallants of ownership of the licence.
Marumo Gallants has rejected the allegations, arguing that outstanding amounts were offset through league grants and that they have met their contractual obligations.
Marumo Gallants have stated that the club would respect the legal process and refrain from further public comment while proceedings continued.
Marumo Gallants legal representative Leruma Thobejane told the Mail & Guardian that the matter will return to the high court soon on the normal court roll after the application was struck from the urgent roll for lack of urgency and the club ordered to pay the costs in September.
Heike Hartnick of Brink de Beer and Potgieter Inc., the law firm representing Jali and Nyatama did not respond to requests for comment.
Both former players were unavailable for comment.