THE Botswana-based duo of Benedict "Tso" Vilakazi and Manqoba "Shakes" Ngwenya are facing trying times at their Gaborone club Notwane after going for three months without payment.

The two moved to Botswana during the off-season and after enduring three months of training on a dusty and bumpy Notwane training ground, they are yet to receive their signing-on fees and allowances.

Vilakazi and Ngwenya have been shifted from one hotel to another and the situation worsened last week when Gaborone Sun management threw them out and refused to release their luggage because of unpaid bills.

The Botswana Footballers' Union (BFU) had to intervene at the weekend and accommodated them at a lodge in the capital.

The union's spokesperson Kgosana Masaseng confirmed the setback, saying they would cater for them until today.

Notwane's new owner, Gift Mogapi, is said to be out of the country on business and is expected back today.

"We've put them in a lodge for a week and hope the owner of the club will be back by Friday," Masaseng told Sowetan yesterday.

He added: "We want to make sure their stay in Botswana is as comfortable as possible because they have not been paid for three months."

Vilakazi, the former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder, said they were considering terminating their contracts and returning home. He described their situation as "painful and sensitive".

"We want out, we have had enough. If we had accommodation it was going to be better. Now we don't even have anywhere to sleep as even our luggage is held by the hotel they owe," said Vilakazi.

Botswana Premier League (BPL) chief executive Bennet Mamelodi said the matter had been referred to the players status committee.

The two players wrote to the BPL asking for assistance in getting their international transfer certificates (ITCs), but the Botswana Football Association (BFA) says it can not help. The two have signed contracts, but because Mogapi has yet to submit them to the BFA, its hands are tied.

Efforts to get comment from Mogapi were fruitless as his phone was on voice-mail. But, he was quoted in a Botswana daily newspaper saying he was not aware that the players had been evicted from the hotel and had taken up the matter with the Premier League.

The duo's salaries are reportedly in the region of 20000 pula (R23340), the highest in the league.