from NJABULO BUTHELEZI in Durban
KwaZulu Natal Bureau
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – IT is still early days in the Betway Premiership, as well as in the tenure of Pitso Mosimane as head coach of the national team, Bafana Bafana.
However, current form indicates that Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya is the main contender for the top goalscorer award, and the national side needs a player of his calibre to maintain its ascendancy.
Ngwenya’s first name depicts God’s unparalleled love and his surname a crocodile; hence, on the field, he assumes a coy yet callous demeanour, save for an inexcusable tackle that injured an opponent recently.
Unbeknown to South African fans demanding his inclusion in Bafana Bafana, the in-form player taking the local top flight by storm is actually Zimbabwean.
The 23-year-old AmaZulu forward is the latest in a line of Zimbabwean hotshots who have, over the decades, set the elite league in the northern neighbour ablaze.
Six goals in all five league matches by “Thando”, the latest in a 2-1 victory away to KwaZulu-Natal rivals Richards Bay this past weekend, have put the lad from the asbestos-mining town of Zvishavane in a strong position to surpass the meagre 14 goals that secured Chadian Sédé Junior Dion the Golden Boot last season.
The Zimbabwean has, so early into this season, become the first player in PSL history to achieve that feat in consecutive matches.
This hot streak by Ngwenya, whose surname is common in both South Africa and Zimbabwe due to deep-rooted cultural heritage and regional history, coincided with returning Bafana Bafana coach Mosimane naming the preliminary squad for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2017 qualifiers.
Unversed South Africans had raised concerns about why Mosimane’s technical team had “left out” Ngwenya, a player who is the talk of the town.
“How come a player that is a leading goalscorer is not in Bafana Bafana squad? Ngwenya deserves a call-up,” Thokozani Duma, an AmaZulu supporter, queried.
The ambitious Durban-based team explained to him, “But he (Ngwenya) is a Warrior.”
This is in reference to Zimbabwe’s national football teams, all bearing the moniker of the Warriors.
A South African fan advocated for Ngwenya’s naturalisation as a South African to be fast-tracked, reflecting how goalscoring is a rare skill among locals.
“How long has he been in South Africa?” the supporter asked.
The centre-forward has been at AmaZulu since July 2025, after signing from FC Platinum in Zimbabwe.
A foreign footballer must typically live and work in South Africa for five years to obtain permanent residency and be registered as a local player in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
The AmaZulu fan insisted, “We can work on getting him (Ngwenya) citizenship because our (national team) strikers cannot score.”
Last season, Ngwenya became the first AmaZulu player to net four away goals in the 2025/26 season for this historic club.
AmaZulu brands him “a certified goal machine” who also possesses “deadly accuracy” at the pool table.
Calls by uninitiated locals for his inclusion in South Africa’s national side come at a time when some vigilante groups in the host country are agitating for foreign nationals to vacate.
– CAJ News