Johannesburg – At the peak of his career, former Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena earned around R1 million a month.
And the man who played for top soccer clubs like Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth in England currently cruises around in a Hummer H2, which costs more than R1 million.
But the 32-year-old man, known to his fans as “Mbazo”, has failed to pay BMW financial services R193 000 for his BMW X5 4.4i.
The company hauled him to the Johannesburg high court on Wednesday, where Judge Fritz van Oosten ordered him to return the car, failing which the sheriff of court was directed to remove the vehicle from him.
“The respondent shall return the 2005 BMW X5 4.4i motor vehicle to the applicant. In the event that the respondent fails to return the vehicle, the sheriff is directed to remove the vehicle from wherever it may be found and return it to the applicant,” said the judge.
Mokoena bought the car through BMW financial services in March 2008 for R590 766, with a prime lending rate of 14.5 percent. He agreed to pay monthly instalments of R8 157.00, with the final balloon payment of R100 165 in April this year.
But Mokoena defaulted on his repayments, and as of last September, he was in arrears of R47 770.57, with the total balance owed to the company amounting to R193 007.70.
When contacted on Wednesday, Mokoena first said: “I don’t know what you are talking about, I drive a Hummer.”
When asked if he ever owned a BMW X5 4.4i, he said: “I used to, but I driver a Hummer now, (so) let me get back to you.”
Mokoena could end up paying more as the vehicle still has to be assessed to establish if there is any damage.
“The question of damages suffered by the applicant is postponed sine die (indefinitely) until the return of the vehicle to the applicant for the determination of the value thereof and the amount due,” ruled Judge Van Oosten. – The Star