Warriors legend Peter Ndlovu admits he is struggling to keep up with child support payments after the Johannesburg High Court recently reduced the amount of child support fees one of the mothers of his 13 children was demanding.
According to a report by the South African newspaper City Press, Ndlovu, who is the team manager at South African club Mamelodi Sundowns approached the court seeking recourse after being ordered to pay almost R30,000 by the Johannesburg Magistrates' Court last year.
The mother, who was not named, to protect the identity of their children was demanding R29,845 per month from the Zimbabwean football legend.
Ndlovu became the first African to play and score in the rebranded English Premier League when he signed for Coventry City in 1992 from Highlanders as a teenager.
He reportedly appealed that order in June last year, asking the court to reduce the amount.
In papers filed to the court, pleading his case Ndlovu said the maintenance the mother of two was demanding would be detrimental to his 11 other children he pays maintenance for.
The high court subsequently granted the mother R12 000 in maintenance and ordered that it be deducted from Ndlovu's salary at Mamelodi Sundowns.
Peter Ndlovu
"I have 13 children, including the two with the first respondent," the former Zimbabwean international told the court.
"I am obliged to contribute and see to the maintenance of all my 13 children.
"I earn a monthly salary which is utilised for my own living expenses, needs, necessities and liabilities, as well as to contribute to my dependants' expenses and other obligations.
"I can simply not afford a deduction of R29,845 per month from my salary," read the 49-year-old's court application.
He said the mother had approached the Johannesburg Magistrates Court without alerting him to the legal proceedings.
"I approached the maintenance court at the earliest opportunity given my work commitments - on June 10, 2021 - in order to establish how the order was obtained without my having any knowledge of the proceedings and to determine how the arrears were calculated," he wrote in his court papers.
According to the court order, Ndlovu was already more than R94,000 in maintenance arrears.
He said there was never any meaningful relationship with the mother, apart from the two encounters that resulted in the birth of the children.
"As a result of these encounters, two minor children were born between the respondent and me. I was not informed by the respondent about the pregnancies or the subsequent births of our children," he revealed.
"The last I heard of the children was when she instituted maintenance proceedings against me in 2016. There is no communication between the respondent and me. We share no relationship and there is no contact between us," he told the court.
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He also said he had no contact with the children, as their mother was denying him access.
Ndlovu did not respond to City Press' request for his comments on his child support struggles.
The Bulawayo-born football legend, who will celebrate his 50th birthday on February 25, had a successful professional career in England with several clubs such as Sheffield United, Huddlesfield Town, Coventry City and Birmingham City before joining Mamelodi Sundowns.
He also represented Zimbabwe in international football for 16 years - which included appearances at two Africa Cup of Nations finals.
