DURBAN, South Africa: Former AmaZulu FC defender Phumulani Gumede is set to join struggling Motsepe Foundation Championship side The Bees, as coach Joel Masutha moves to shore up a defence that has leaked its way to the wrong end of the log.
Gumede is not the only KwaZulu-Natal defender on the club’s radar. A source close to both the player and the club told The African Chronicle that Masutha also wants 21-year-old Smanga Mkhize from KwaDukuza, and that both players began training with the Mpumalanga side on Tuesday.
The Bees sit 15th on the 16-team log after seven league matches, with one win, no draws and six defeats. Their three points leave them level with 14th-placed ORBIT College and two points above bottom side Venda FC.
Masutha wants a stronger central defence
According to the source, the club’s technical team is looking to strengthen the heart of its back line with one experienced defender and one young player before their next match.
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“The former AmaZulu FC defender Phumulani Gumede and that young defender from KwaDukuza have started their training with The Bees today (Tuesday). The team has lost their last two games and coach Joel Masutha is apparently looking at strengthening the central defence with both the Under 23 and over 23 defenders, hence they are looking at signing these two defenders ahead of their next game,” the source said.
The club had not commented on the reported moves at the time of publication.
A footballing family’s hopes
The African Chronicle contacted Bonga Mkhize, the young defender’s father, who confirmed that his son had started training with The Bees.
“That’s true sir. The boy has travelled to a far place to try his luck. He is from a footballing family though we didn’t make it to the professional levels but from my father to myself we are all football people. We are just wishing him all the best in his journey, maybe he will be the one to change the situation at home through football,” Mkhize said.
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A familiar face back in the dugout
The Bees turned back to Masutha earlier this month in an effort to rescue a difficult start to the 2026/27 campaign. Masutha first took charge of the Nkomati-based club in February, when his stated mandate was survival, and he helped them keep their place in the Championship before leaving to become assistant coach at newly promoted Betway Premiership side Kruger United.
His return followed the departure of Duncan Lechesa, who had signed a one-year deal in June but was placed on special leave and then dismissed after the club’s poor run. Dominic Ramokgopa and Velile Zitha held the fort in the interim.
Masutha, a former Chippa United coach who guided Black Leopards to promotion in the 2017/18 season, inherits a side that only reached the second tier in 2025, after winning the Mpumalanga stream of the ABC Motsepe League and reaching the national play-off final.
With the bottom of the table already tightly packed, the arrival of two new defenders could prove important for The Bees as they try to avoid being dragged into a relegation fight for a second successive season.
