Rulani Mokwena opens up about ‘arrest’ in Libya

2026-03-18 - 08:31

Former MC Alger coach Rulani Mokwena has moved to clarify the circumstances surrounding his recent ‘arrest’ in Algeria. This comes after Mokwena was detained by authorities at Houari Boumediene Airport shortly after parting ways with Alger, with reports suggesting that customs officials stopped the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Wydad Athletic coach after allegedly trying to leave the country with undeclared foreign currency. ALSO READ: Mokwena free to join Ittihad after Algeria arrest Speaking to Robert Marawa on 947 FM from Turkey, where he was on his way to Libya to be unveiled as the new Al-Ittihad Tripoli coach, Mokwena described the incident as a misunderstanding. “We were on our way to Istanbul. It was three other staff members and me, and I felt a little bit guilty that I was the only one booked into business class. We then got to the airport, and we were told we could upgrade the seats for the staff at the counter. So, we got to the counter... to cut a very long story short. We got to the counter, and then we were told we could only pay cash. “We tried to get some cash to pay, and just to upgrade the seats, but after we were told we had to do it online. We tried to do it online, but it was then rejected because it had shut down or the time lapsed, whatever the reason, and then we were still stuck with the cash, and there was no one else that we could hand over the money to, and that was the scenario. “But I don’t know if you can steal your salary or money if you’ve worked very, very hard for nine months... how do I work for a club, get a salary paid, you know, and I still have to declare that I work? I think the public knows that I was the head coach of Mouloudia in Algeria; number one in the championship, we just won the Super Cup and I think the people know that I was (working) unless I was offering my services for free and I’m not so sure what was going on you know so how do you declare something that is of public knowledge? I don’t know how to explain this, but it is what it is, you know, Rob. ALSO READ: Teboho Mokoena brace seals Sundowns victory “We couldn’t re-deposit the money, so we were caught (with the cash), and as the head coach of the group, I’m responsible for having it. Even more interesting was the fact that in terms of the legalities, it was said that the maximum that a foreigner could leave the country with was 5,000 Dollars, but if you multiply 5,000 times 4, it is more or less 20,000, and the money was way less than 20,000. But it is what it is, you know, and things were blown completely out of proportion.” Meanwhile, Al-Ittihad Tripoli of Libya have unveiled Mokwena as their new coach.