During the last African Cup of Nations competitions hosted this month in Egypt, Johannes Bonfrere, erstwhile assistance to Clemence Westerhof both former coaches of Nigeria’s National football team, Super Eagles was quoted by the News magazine as having remarked of Westerhof when asked by a reporter.

This remark touched a chord in me. I had actually followed the controversy back then when Tendayi accused Westerhof of infecting her with HIV. Here is Clemence Westerhof, back in Nigeria, directing probably the most ambitious youth program in sports development, talking of the Soccer Academy in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

Is Clemens actually HIV positive? I asked myself. I went back to read Tendayi’s story, Tendayi is Clemens Zimbabwean former glamour model wife who tested HIV positive and has since devoted her energy to HIV/AIDS advocacy work in her country. She accused Westerhof of abandoning her and their young daughter.

That Westerhof is a cult figure in Nigeria’s football is not in doubt. That probably explains why he was brought back to develop the next generation of Nigerian soccer stars. Till date, he is credited with the best records in Nigeria’s football history having groomed relatively untapped talent winning in the process the African Cup of Nations in 1994 and qualifying the country for her first world cup appearance. In Nigeria, a multi ethnic, multi cultural society, there has not been any other unifying factor than football. The country also now has the highest number of people living with the HIV virus. At 6.2million, no other African country is in that league, not even South Africa.

I ponder about a Clemens Westerhof who is HIV positive and open about his status. I envisaged the impact it would have had in Nigeria if he is open about his status. But I am assuming he is positive, what if he is not.

I had actually built up a scenario reminiscent to when Magic Johnson came open about his status 15 years ago. 15 years! When he put a face to the disease. He had remarked "Sometimes you are a little naive and think it can never happen to you. You think it can only happen to other people. Well here I am to say it can happen to anyone, even me, Magic Johnson."
We know the impact this had on the black community in the US, and not just the US, but the entire world. This was the scenario I was dreaming up, it may remain a dream which it is.

I went back and dug out Tendayi’s statement at the time captured in interviews and opinion pieces. She actually published a book, ‘Unlucky in Love’. Here is an update on Tendayi and her work and what Westerhof referred to as his response to Tendayi’s allegation, although it came from a woman Westerhof endorsed as his fiancée then!

Westerhof Unlucky In Love
Wednesday, 22 June 2005
Zimbabwean weekend Gazzette.

TENDAI WESTERHOF, the charismatic former wife of once Warriors head coach, Clemens Westerhof has launched a book entitled Unlucky In Love.

The courageous mother of four who has battled to have his former husband own up to his fatherly duties to her almost three year old daughter without success is the founder member of PUBLIC Personalities Against Aids Trust (PPAAT).
Her new book is entitled Unlucky in Love.

Tendayi is arguably one of the first celebrities in Zimbabwe to go public about her HIV positive status in 2003. During the time she faced
public and media ridicules as some thought it was a ploy to get donor funding.

Alas, Tendayi – a former glamour model has never looked back since. "This book has been written very differently from most HIV and Aids biographies. It takes away the gloomy side of HIV," said Westerhof whose child was born without the virus, despite the mother testing positive, only a few months earlier. "Unlucky in Love mixes humour and some education and some very practical strategies on how to cope with some of the challenges faced by women living with HIV and Aids in Southern Africa," said Westerhof. According to Westerhof, Unlucky in Love is expected to influence behavior change among youths, spearhead awareness campaigns, educate and map way forward to women living with HIV and Aids. It is also an all age book irrespective of one's HIV status.

Westerhof, a former professional model, has carried out numerous awareness campaigns and worked tirelessly in the fight against HIV and Aids in the country. Last year, she organised Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) for nine parliamentarians as a way of encouraging Zimbabweans to go for VCT- a platform to care and treatment.

The initiative was very successful as evidenced by several other influential figures who underwent VCT in public. Her efforts in the continuing war against the deadly pandemic were rewarded in 2004 when the Junior Chamber International (JCI) nominated her among the 10 outstanding young people of Zimbabwe. She was honored with a humanitarian and voluntary leadership award.

Up close and personal with Tendayi Westerhof
TendaYi Westerhoff, the former wife of one-time Zimbabwe Warriors coach, Clemens Westerhoff, has stirred a hornet's nest after the publication of her book on HIV and AIDS.

The book, titled Unlucky In Love, has generated a lot of media interest and controversy. This is because although it is written differently from other books on HIV and AIDS, by incorporating humour and education to deal with the gloomy side of the pandemic, some people see Unlucky In Love as an attempt by a scorned woman to get back at her ex-husband.

Some observers have complained in letters to newspapers about Tendayi's "tendency" to blame Westerhoff for her HIV status when it cannot be proved that he indeed, infected her. Tendayi, a former glamour model and a mother of four, was the first "celebrity" in Zimbabwe to disclose her HIV positive status in 2003. During that time she faced ridicule as some thought it was a ploy to get donor funding. Now her book and the work of her organisation, Public Personalities Against Aids Trust (PPAAT) have also earned her brickbats as people accuse her of blaming Clemens Westerhoff for her HIV condition in the book. In a question and answer session with Tendayi, The Weekend Gazette's Stanley Kwenda asked her to give her side of the story.

Stanley Kwenda: what motivated you to write this sensational book?
Tendayi Westerhoff: The role I have assumed in society and the need to break the jinx on HIV/AIDS issues, which usually affects women.

SK: Did you tell Westerhoff that you were writing a book that had something about your relationship with him?
TW: I sent all the manuscripts to him when he was in South Africa but he never responded.

SK: Did you disclose or make your status known to Westerhoff before you married?
TW: My HIV status was not an issue before we got married though I encouraged the use of contraceptives which my partner could not buy. I would like to believe that I was not infected with HIV at the time.

SK: Under what circumstances did you meet Westerhoff?
TW: Under normal circumstances. He made the first move and it was love at first sight.

SK: At your age you have four children with three different men, don't you think people will look at you as someone with a colourful past and therefore feel justified in labelling you a gold digger.
TW: HIV/AIDS activism is not about what a person has done in the past but the role one is playing in the fight against AIDS. My ex-husband has also had children with three different women and I have had children with three different men, him included so there is no difference.

SK: How many lovers do you think you have had?
TW: I have been normal like any other human being. They try one relationship it fails, you try another but still you keep trying but that does not imply that you have loose morals.

SK: Are you still sexually active and seeing someone?
TW: I am not involved with anyone but I am still a human being with desires like other people. Some people are now afraid of me, as they think I will disclose their HIV status, something that I will never do. And besides they do not want to be associated with the stigma I face as a person living with HIV/AIDS. Men don't want to be seen with me, they are afraid of being labelled HIV positive.

SK: Can you tell us a bit about your youthful days in the mining town of Mhangura?
TW: I was an ordinary girl who sold vegetables at the market and did street vending. I loved doing housework and stayed indoors.

SK: The title of your book seems to suggest that you were unlucky in your love life.
TW: Yes because I loved all the three men genuinely and never cheated on them but they abused me.

SK: Can you say you were a victim of sugar daddies who were on the prowl during your teenage years?
TW: Yes, during the 80s sugar daddies were a menace and many teenage girls fell victim.

SK: Why do people still doubt your HIV status and think you are doing it for money?
TW: It's not about proving one's status but the role an individual is playing in the bigger fight. For your own information I am not getting big figures from the donors as people might think. Donors don't give people money because they are HIV positive.

SK: Can you name some of the personalities who are part of your organisation (PPAAT)?
TW: I am not allowed to do so.

SK: what is your organisation doing to help fight AIDS?
TW: Going on outreach programmes and preaching about the disease in churches and work places.

SK: If Westerhoff asks you back will you take him in?
TW: Clemens was the only man who married me and I have a child with him but he doesn't want that child and once you don't love the child then you also don't love the mother. I am looking after this child alone as Clemens has vowed that he will never support a child with AIDS. He has never been in touch to check on how his child is doing since the results of the DNA tests confirmed him as the father of the child, which makes the whole thing difficult. But I would want the child to be in contact with her father, she can now talk.

SK: To whom do you dedicate the book and why?
TW: My children and women because they are the ones who suffer most.

Minister backs Tendayi Westerhof
Stanley Kwenda

TENDAYI Westerhof, the National Director of Public Personalities Against Aids Trust (PPAAT) has received a morale boost from the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, who says she is a genuine HIV/AIDS activist who should be supported.

Over the past month, Tendayi has faced public criticism following the publication of her book, Unlucky In Love in which she is perceived to unfairly blame her ex-husband, Clemens Westerhof, for her HIV positive status.

"I support the role that she is playing in the fight against HIV/AIDS and I don't believe in all the talk about her motives. I believe she is genuine and we are very happy to be working with her as a ministry," said Parirenyatwa after launching a book on environmental health and development in Harare last week.

The book, entitled ACTION Pals-Tomorrow is Ours, was produced by ACTION, a local non-governmental organisation, with the help of various donors.

"Tendayi is a source of hope in the difficult fight against the disease which has decimated the Zimbabwean population. It is very important that she is supported instead of being ridiculed for her noble initiatives," said Parirenyatwa.

However despite the criticism she has encountered, Tendayi Westerhof remains steadfast in her resolve to continue the fight against AIDS.
"I will continue to tell my story as it is because it is true and I am not forcing anyone to agree with it. This is a story about me meant to help both men and women out there who could find themselves HIV positive one day."

The main objectives of (PPAAT) are to guide, coordinate, collaborate, and provide a platform for public personalities within Zimbabwe to inform the public on HIV/AIDS issues. They are encouraged to be open about their HIV/AIDS status. National soccer team captain Peter Ndlovu, is a trustee. Currently the organisation is working with corporate organisations in educating industrial workers on issues of HIV/AIDS. Members of the organisation talk about the disease in Pentecostal Churches.

Westerhof response
Westerhof hits back
Financial Gazette South Africa
Stanley Kwenda

THE Westerhof versus Westerhof war of words, between the former glamour couple, Clemens and Tendayi, is hotting up following a story published in The Weekend Gazette last week.

Stung by innuendos made against him in Unlucky In Love, a book on HIV and AIDS penned by his ex-wife, Clemens Westerhof revealed by telephone from South Africa that he was making moves to have the book banned.

"I am going to have that book banned because of the illegal use of my name in it. That book contains lies. That lady is a liar. She never sent me anything on that book and we never signed an agreement over it so it should not be sold," fumed Westerhof in response to claims made in a question and answer interview carried in last week's issue of the The Weekend Gazette.

"I am going to instruct my lawyers in Zimbabwe to tell her to stop selling that book immediately or I will sue her and as for her film she can go ahead as long as she is not using my name in her money venture."

Westerhof also questioned why Tendayi (nee Katekete) is still using his surname when they publicly divorced in a legally constituted court of Zimbabwe.

"Why is she still using my name when it's over between us? The sugar daddy she was talking about is gone and she is looking for other sugar daddies in the form of donors using my name. That woman is a gold digger, always digging for money," the former Zimbabwe national soccer team coach exploded from his South African base.

In an interview with this reporter last week, Tendayi said she was legally entitled to the name like any other divorced women who continue to use their ex-husbands' names.

Responding to accusations that he was not taking care of his child Alliyah Nyashadzashe, Clemens declared that he had already taken care of the child by making a one-off maintenance payment of 180 million Zimbabwean dollars until she is 18 years old. The money came from the sale of the couple's house in Highlands from which the child was entitled to 20 percent of the total value. Clemens Westerhof's Charles Mtetwa, is administering the fund.

Asked whether this amount is enough to take of his child who is nearly three years old in Zimbabwe's hyper inflationary environment, he said the High Court judges who made the ruling knew what they were doing.

"The judges who presided over the maintenance case knew what they were doing and therefore their judgement can not be compromised and they can not revisit a case that has been closed so that's it."

A clearly emotionally-charged Clemens said he wished Tendayi would stop bringing up his name.

"I just want to ask her to start her own life without my name. I no longer want to be associated with that thief, she stole my money and confessed before immigration officials that she had taken 6000 Rands and US$10,000 without my knowledge, I have evidence of that. And she now wants to talk big, she should just leave me," pleaded the Dutchman.

According to Clemens the former spouses met at Crown Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in Harare while he was in camp with the Warriors.

Tendayi's tell-all book has sparked controversy in Zimbabwe where observers have questioned her decision to publicly blame Clemens for her HIV positive status when she had a colourful past before meeting him. Tendayi has gone public with her HIV positive status and formed Public Personalities Against Aids Trust (PPAAT).

She regularly gives press interviews and appears on television programmes describing how her ex-husband infected her.

Some Zimbabweans who have written letters to various newspapers have complained that this is unfair to Clemens as there was no proof that this was indeed the case. Tendayi had three children with three different men before marrying Clemens.

When asked about this in the last interview, she said she believed she was not infected with HIV before getting together with Westerhof.

2. Westerhof Strikes Back
- I’m Sick and Tired of Tendayi!
Itsbho.com

Last week itsbho.com email inboxes were bombarded by a series of emails from a lady who claimed to be Clemence Westerhof’s fiancée. Her name: Lillian Westerhof. We were wondering about the legitimacy of these emails when we received a call from South Africa and guess who was on the line? One Lillian Westerhof. She asked if we were going to publish her emails and we expressed interest in hearing from the horse’s mouth- Clemence- that this was above water. She promised to get him to call us. To our surprise the very next day we received a call from Westerhof. “What Lillian has written is what I think.” He said. “Publish it. It’s my side of the story. I’m sick and tired of this woman!”
Well here they are. The five messages as we received them. No editing, no spelling or grammar corrections- as it is. Zvazviri…

MESSAGE NUMBER 1
From: LILLIAN NDLOVU
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 5:54 PM
To: ITSBHO.COM
Subject: TENDAI KATEKETE (EX-WESTERHOF) SECRETARY

Tendai in her book she say's Clemens Westerhof was sleeping with her secretary that is a complete liar Clemens only saw her secretary in the reception of the beauty salon when he picks up tendai after hours he did not even know her name because he never interfered with tendai's work he only said hallo as a friendly person ,then one day in the city at about mid-day ,day after clemens moved out of mount pleasant home with all his house properties tendai did not know where clemens went so her secretary was also fired the following day the same morning when the secretary was fired on her way home in the city she met clemens and told him that she lost her job asking him if tendai had a right to sack her just like that clemens was on a mission to met his lawyer to discuss about the divorce and he told the secretary to wait for him in a coffee shop so a friend of tendai saw them talking during that moment she told him the whole story how she was sacked by tendai if a cup of coffee can make a crazy woman like tendai think clemens slept with her secretary putting false story's in the press and televion she must be mental disturbed she because clemens is one of the respected people and a gentlyman he wouldn't cheat on her tendai did not want people to know why clemens left her the trueth will come soon than she thinks she has won

YOURS LILLIAN WESTERHOF

MESSAGE NUMBER 2
From: LILLIAN NDLOVU
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 6:02 PM
To: ITSBHO.COM
Subject: TENDAI KATEKETE (EX-WESTERHOF) GOLD DIGGER

Tendai is not a high profile person or celebrity she is a desperate money maker using the name Westerhof for donors stunt and sympathy, because she don't have high education to get her self a descent job to support her four children from different fathers.
why the name Westerhof grow up Tendai. her behaviour to the media campaigns is desperate for donors money because Clemens Westerhof is gone with his money and some of his wealthy belongings and she has nothing with a big mouth get over it Tendai Katekete or shut your big mouth. She's a mother who loves money and piblicity or i can say exporsure to the public, while her family is not one of her first priorities when money is involved. No money no mercy no self respect you need a life Tendai don't involve donors money into your messy life as if you care about people living with HIV/AIDS only donors money. she has done everything in her powers to destroy Clemens Westerhof with her media campaings also as she made all the arrangements for him to be deported out of Zimbabwe for her to take over his home Clemens house in mount pleasant.
she acts like a virgin Tendai as if she's perfect why putting all the blame to ex-husband also she has a hororr sex life of her own before Clemens. someone must put a stop to this rubbish and that so called book UNLUCKY IN LOVE this woman story has more gold holes than any other gold mines she's a liar. what i would advise her to get phsycological help or a dosse of medicine

YOURS LILLIAN WESTERHOF

MESSAGE NUMBER 3
From: LILLIAN NDLOVU
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 6:03 PM
To: ITSBHO.COM
Subject: TENDAI KATEKETE (EX-WESTERHOF) IS A THIEF
Tenadi (gold digger) mr westerhof bought you a hair salon you make no profit out of it,then you travel to Dubai he bought you a ticket and gave you some money for to buy some clothes also you make no profit out of it ,he also bought a beauty salon and modelling school for you no profit was made out of it .Now sugar daddy is gone will you put other people before your gold digger's car through the HIV/AIDS campaigns.
You stole money out of the private safe from mr Clemens Westerhof and you dinied it to everyone, but in front of the immigration officers you confessed that you stole rands (8000) also US DOLLARS (10.000) then you started crying in front of the officers so that they feel sorry, mercy for you. don't use more the name westerhof because its not your family name is not every woman in Zimbabwe proud to use their parents name Katekete. shame on you liar do you want to steel from the donors also then once a thief always a thief

YOURS LILLIAN WESTERHOF

MESSAGE NUMBER 4

From: LILLIAN NDLOVU
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 6:04 PM
To: ITSBHO.COM
Subject: TENDAI KATEKETE (EX-WESTERHOF) IS A Bad LIAR

After they wedd she planned the whole marriage as an early retierment for her to benefit wealth out of Clemens Westerhof "house" money for maintanance that is Clemens house where she living with her four children as she made all the arrangements for him to be deported as she layed charges to the immigration that Clemens was beating her up also wanting to kill her.
she never loved him only money and publicity say's an insider one day a friend of Clemens told him that after an evening of drinking tendai katekete told his wife that they must take as much money as they can from their old sugar daddy's as she always point a fingure to all his friends in her book because they know the trueth about her as a bad liar
YOURS LILLIAN WESTERHOF

MESSAGE NUMBER 5

From: LILLIAN NDLOVU
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 6:06 PM
To: ITSBHO.COM
Subject: TENDAI KATEKETE OFFERED RESIDENCE PERMIT WITH MARRIEAGE

Tendai katekete informed Clemens Westerhof that if they get married it is easier for Clemens to get a residence permit if he marries her with chapter 5.11 then the zifa took a long time to get him a residence permit why she offered because Clemens was rich and famous and she saw a high life that she had never lived and she pushed him to marry her because she was saying in her culture its not allowed for two people to live together with out a wedding she was up to no good bad woman.
she portrays her self as a victim of wanting money & publicity from man look for a job like any other proud
Zimbabwean and make your own money

YOUR LILLIAN WESTERHOF

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