THE body of the former AmaZulu Football Club chairman Jonathan Baloyi is stranded in a London funeral parlour as friends scramble to raise money to send him home, New Zimbabwe.com has learnt.
Friends say Baloyi had no family in the UK and are appealing for £2,350 to fly his body to Bulawayo.
Baloyi died of aplastic anemia -- a condition where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells -- three weeks ago.
Baloyi’s mother told New Zimbabwe.com from Zimbabwe that it was difficult to ascertain his son’s financial position as he had no known relatives in the UK.
“We don’t know what to do and we pray that somebody can just help us because all of us are here in Bulawayo and our hands are tied,” she said by telephone from Bulawayo.
“It’s really painful because Jo was a responsible son who worked hard for his children.”
Baloyi, a father of five, was born in Bulawayo in 1969. He did his secondary education at Mpoppoma High School, leaving school to train as an accountant.
He became the youngest club chairman in 1998 when he took charge at AmaZulu. He relocated to the UK in 2003.
CJ Reilly Funeral Services in London have agreed to handle donations on behalf of the Baloyi family.
Director Chris Reilly said well-wishers were free to donate funds to the funeral home’s NatWest account: Account Number: 20522398, Sort Code: 600737. Receipts should be faxed to +442088591495 or confirm deposit on landline: +442088591414.