Sekhukhune United coach Lehlohonolo Seema emphasized that Shaune Mogaila’s situation could befall anyone and that the player received substantial support during his difficult period.

Mogaila had been absent from the club while facing charges of culpable homicide, reckless and negligent driving, and fleeing the scene of a fatal car accident.

The accident, which occurred last October, tragically resulted in the death of a nine-year-old girl and injuries to two others. Initially released on bail, Mogaila’s case has been postponed to May for further investigation following his second court appearance two weeks ago.

To the surprise of many, Seema included Mogaila in the starting lineup for their 4-2 victory against AmaZulu at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday. Mogaila even played a key role in Sekhukhune’s equalizer, providing the assist for Andy Boyela’s goal.

Boyela converted Mogaila’s right-wing cross with a side-footed finish past Richard Ofori. Mogaila’s previous appearance was against Richards Bay on 29 October, a 2-0 win, which was the same day as the tragic incident involving alleged drunk driving.

“He is a player that has been registered to us and, of course, he had an unfortunate incident that happened and the team gave him support and time to deal with it,” Seema said after the game. 

“And now he’s back, and we are happy with the first game after a long time and we are happy with the contribution that he did. He is the player that we know. 

“The only thing that we are doing is that we just want to put that behind our back of course and then we try to give him support so that he can continue working for the team. 

“Definitely, the team has been supporting him you can see how he’s playing. It was very unfortunate; it can happen to any one of us but he needed support, he needed time which he was given time. 

With the team focused on moving forward, Sekhukhune’s victory solidified their fourth-place position with 28 points from 17 matches, just one point behind third-placed Polokwane City.

Seema’s team will next play Chippa United, his former club, away at Buffalo City Stadium on Saturday at 15:30.