Sebata, Rollers' short-lived marriage
Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday April 29, 2025 10:17
Last year, Sebata acquired 80 percent stake in Rollers, through its investment arm, Popa Popa Investments which gave him control of Botswana's most successful club for five years. But the deal has failed to last a full season after Sebata told Rollers yesterday that he was disinvesting from the team. A press statement from Sebata Consolidated Holdings indicates that the group had invested more than P22 million in the club, through paying salaries and acquiring assets, among others. However, it is unclear what will happen to the assets but Sebata group media liaison, Nqobile Ndlovu, speaking through the phone from South Africa, said the investor is not effectively seeking compensation for his investment. 'At the moment there is no recourse. However, Sebata reserves the right to pursue available legal avenues,' Ndlovu said.
He could not commit on whether Sebata will continue paying players' salaries following yesterday's announcement. 'That position is unclear. The season is almost over, I don't think he (Sebata) will be averse to making sure players are paid.' Ndlovu said the Rollers committee has not been forthcoming to meet Sebata to resolve outstanding ownership and compliance issues. 'We have gone through a process of trying to meet each other on a number of instances and they have not responded; part of the reason we are here. We tried our best to meet so that we move forward. Ours was a long term investment but certain issues came to light which we questioned. It is not that we are not willing to meet them. It has been a couple of months trying to engage,' Ndlovu said. He said the Rollers committee only responded following legal intervention. 'Even then there was no commitment,' he said.
Ndlovu also said they had done a thorough assessment before Sebata put pen to paper on the Rollers deal. 'We did go through due diligence but there was false representation and it only came to light when Sebata had already signed. We tried to rectify,' he said. 'What one should be clear on is that we were always transparent and the Sebata issue was not the first (at Rollers). May be we were naïve but our intentions were clear and forthright,' Ndlovu said. He said following the development, there is need to question the conduct of certain individuals 'who claim to have Rollers' interest at heart.' He did not rule out re-engaging the committee if the situation changes. Reports are that Sebata was pushing for 100 percent ownership which was turned down by the society, that owns 20 percent of the club. Sebata signed a deal through the club's investment arm, Popa Popa Investment where he owned 80 percent of the shares, with the remainder going to the society.
However, there were issues after Sebata indicated that he had turned up information pointing to ownership disparities as previous investor, Jagdish Shah was still the director of another investment arm, Township Rollers (Pty) Ltd. Sources said after a drawn-out battle, Township Holding (Pty) Ltd was returned to the club and Sebata's contract with Popa Popa Investment was cancelled. A new contract was drawn up around January which gave Sebata control of his preferred Township Holdings (Pty) Ltd. But the contract was never signed with Sebata now insisting on 100 percent ownership and raising compliance issues over the club's registration with the Botswana Football League and Botswana Football Association. The committee reportedly pointed out that all compliance issues were with the society and there was no need for Sebata to be concerned. Rollers spokesperson, Pako Lebanna said the club will make detailed pronouncements on the matter soon. 'We do confirm receipt of Mr. Sebata’s resignation and have also seen the Media Release shared with the media. We will comment further in due time. We will endeavour to engage further with Sebata Group for a smooth separation,' Rollers spokesperson, Pako Lebanna said.