FORMER English Premier League footballer Peter Ndlovu has claimed that he cannot afford to pay £568 in child support for two of his children because he has 11 other kids.
Ndlovu, 49, who played in the English Premier League for Coventry and also represented Birmingham, Huddersfield and Sheffield United, is now based in South Africa and has become embroiled in a legal battle with the mother of the two children.
She wants Ndlovu to pay her £1,420 a month, but the Johannesburg High Court ruled that he should pay her £568 a month, as reported by the British newspaper The Sun.
He had been ordered by a lower court to pay the money but appealed the decision.
Ndlovu – who in 1992 became the first African player to feature in the newly-formed Premier League – stated that he has had no contact with the two children and hasn’t spoken to their mother since their conception.
Ndlovu told the court: ‘I have 13 children, including the two children I have with the first respondent.
‘I’m obliged to contribute and see to the maintenance needs of all 13 of my children.
‘I earn a monthly salary that is utilised for my own living expenses, needs, necessities, and liabilities as well as to contribute to the dependents’ expenses and other obligations.
‘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.
‘The last I heard of the children was when she instituted maintenance proceedings against me in 2016.’
Ndlovu was eager to stress that he cannot afford to pay the requested child maintenance fees.
He said: ‘There is no communication between the respondent and me. We share no relationship and there is no contact between us.
‘I cannot simply afford a deduction of R29,845 per month from my salary.’
The ex-Zimbabwe international was already more than £4,300 in maintenance arrears, according to reports.
The case with the mother of two of his children is the latest legal trouble for Ndlovu, who in 2013 was cleared of culpable homicide after being involved in a car crash in Zimbabwe in 2012 that killed two people, including his brother Adam.
Passenger Nomqhele Tshili also died in the crash near Victoria Falls, where Ndlovu’s BMW X5 crashed and uprooted two trees, the British Daily Mail newspaper reported.
Ndlovu himself was left in a critical condition following the incident. He suffered severe injuries to his head and leg, as well as internally.
Ndlovu finished his career in Africa, playing for Mamelodi Sundowns, Thanda Royal Zulu, Highfield United and Black Mambas.
He then became the assistant manager of Zimbabwe, for whom he made 100 appearances as a player. Ndlovu was most recently the team manager of Mamelodi Sundowns from 2013 to 2015.
