Soccer star a 'deadbeat dad'

2003-12-08 11:02

Sizwe samaYende and Justin Arenstein

Ermelo - Texas-based Bafana Bafana striker Nkosinathi "Chippa" Nhleko's international career is on the line after being accused of being a "deadbeat dad" who is neglecting his child.

The 24-year-old striker, who has carved a name for himself with the Dallas Burns in the United States, appeared briefly in an Mpumalanga child maintenance court last week after allegedly failing to pay upkeep for his five-year-old daughter.

Nhleko, who is known as "Toni" by Americans who have trouble pronouncing his full name, does not deny fathering the girl but has allegedly systematically dodged his parental responsibilities since her birth.

He arrived at the Ermelo courts on November 26 with his new wife, Thandeka, and asked for a paternity test before agreeing to formally pay any maintenance.

The case was postponed to January 26 to allow for the tests, which can only be done 400km away in Johannesburg.

The girl's embittered mother, a 23-year-old public management student at Technikon Pretoria, said afterwards that Nhleko's fame and money appeared to have gone to his head.

"Everybody knows he can afford the child, but he just keeps playing hide-and-seek. Whenever I've managed to corner him, he's taken my bank details and promised to deposit money," she claims.

"But, nothing ever arrives and when I try call back he's changed his numbers."

The young mother and her daughter currently rely on handouts from relatives to survive.

"If it wasn't for my own parents, we wouldn't be able to eat," she says.

Nhleko met the attractive student before he made the big time in 1998, when he still played for an amateur Wesselton township team near Ermelo.

Nhleko's family meanwhile appear to have accepted their responsibilities and regularly buy clothes for his 'lost child'.

The controversy could endanger Nhleko's Major Soccer League career in the US, where so-called "deadbeat dads" are viewed as a serious threat to society.

The US government has set up public "deadbeat dad" databases, while the Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a probation order barring men who fail to pay child support from having more children unless they prove they can support all their offspring.

When confronted on the issue, Nhleko tried to deny he was ever in court.

"I don't know anything about the case, honestly. I'm not a liar. I never even went near Ermelo," Nhleko insisted.

He did, however, concede he was the girl's father and insisted he paid regular maintenance.

"I do support her, she's my baby. I don't know why people are trying to embarrass me," he said.

Ermelo's control prosecutor Danie van der Heever called Nhleko's bluff, however, confirming the case was formally heard on November 26.

- African Eye