Highlanders CEO Sihlangu Dlodlo Found Dead At His Home
Highlanders Football Club Chief Executive Officer Sihlangu Dlodlo was found dead at his home in Nketa 9, Bulawayo, on Monday. He was 60 years old, reported ZimLive.
Friends reported that he was last seen alive on Saturday, two days before his lifeless body was discovered. Concerned family and friends broke down his gate and found him unresponsive through a window.
A Facebook post he made on October 16 is now being interpreted as a potential suicide note, raising concerns about his mental well-being before this tragic incident. Dlodlo wrote in Ndebele:
A nice way to end the drama and nonsense that happens at funerals is to die alone at home and rot for a week or so until the neighbours see green flies by the windows; and the police arrive to recover your remains in a zinc coffin and open truck and take you, hopefully to Kings and Queens.
That way there will be no body viewing. It’s straight to Luveve Cemetery. By the way, please don’t bring flowers sweethearts.
Many of his associates initially dismissed his post, not giving it much thought until after his death, as Dlodlo was known for his playful nature.
His final post on Facebook, just after 3 PM local time on Saturday, read: “Ngiqinisile, ngiqinisile ngithi kini, uNkulunkulu kadakwa shem [Verily, verily I say unto you, God is never drunk. For real].”
One of his close associates, Allan “Ripper” Mpofu, told reporters that Dlodlo had not been seen since Saturday. He said:
It appears he passed on over the weekend. He was alone at his place. After the alarm was raised that he had gone missing, with the help of his relatives we had to force open the gate at his place to gain entry.
After peeping through a window, I couldn’t believe it. I saw the lifeless body of my close friend. This is so disheartening, it’s really sad. We discovered this around 6:45 PM.
Dlodlo had an impressive career, serving as a senior marketing executive for Innscor and Lobel’s, as well as a stint as general manager of Kings and Queens Funeral Services. He joined Highlanders as CEO in April of this year.
In a September 2024 interview, a reporter asked him how he wanted to be remembered “when it’s all said and done.” He responded:
I want to be remembered as a fat ugly man who tried to do the best that he could in the time that he was given. In the bulk of my life I have tried to uplift people around me; I have tried to do things that have a positive impact on my society and I hope that the Lord will give me a bit more years so that I can continue doing this because when everything is said and done, we cannot be great unless the people around us achieve the greatness.
Dlodlo’s wife and children reside in the United Kingdom. His body was transported to a local hospital for a postmortem examination.
More: Pindula News
