Former Mamelodi Sundowns winger Lebohang ‘Cheeseboy’ Mokoena has recalled a bizarre incident involving his former teammate Punch Masenamela, who allegedly faked his own kidnapping in an attempt to get R1 million from the club.
Masenamela made his name at Kaizer Chiefs before joining Sundowns in 2011, where he spent three years. Mokoena was part of the Sundowns squad during the former left-back’s time at the club.
Speaking on Soccerbeat, Mokoena recalled how Masenamela allegedly claimed he had been kidnapped while the team was preparing for a weekend fixture.
“We were training in the week preparing for the weekend’s game and Friday, when we arrived at camp, calls came in and we were told Punch Masenamela had been kidnapped,” Mokoena said.
Punch Masenamela spent three years at Chloorkop
“So we were all worried and tried to call him, asking ourselves, ‘What’s happening? Where’s Punch?’ Then Punch called and told the president [Patrice Motsepe] that he had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding a ransom,” Cheeseboy recalled.
“Okay, sharp, the chairman asked how much they wanted. He was like, ‘They want R1 million so they can let me go.’ He thought he was dealing with guys from the side corner who would just send the money.”
According to Mokoena, Sundowns took the claim seriously and began trying to establish Masenamela’s whereabouts.
“So Sundowns then told him they’d sort that out. They made signals, traced his call and found out that Punch was at a lodge in the Vaal. He was busy with room service the whole time and making calls, asking for ransom,” Mokoena said while laughing.
“They found him and he was alone and asked, ‘So you’re not kidnapped? Who kidnapped you? Ransom?’”
Mokoena revealed that Masenamela was later met with plenty of questions from his teammates when he returned to training.
“When he arrived at training, all the players wanted to know the story,” he added.
The former Sundowns players then decided to have some fun with the situation, presenting Masenamela with a briefcase and joking that it contained the R1 million ransom.
Mokoena said the senior players also made it clear to Punch Masenamela that he should never attempt anything similar again.