OFFICIAL: Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena confirmed as new Al-Ittihad tactician after leaving MC Alger

After weeks of speculation over his next move, Rhulani Mokwena has officially joined Libyan giants Al-Ittihad.

Mokwena leaves MC Alger after he opts to trigger the release clause contained in his contract. To trigger the specific clause, Mokwena was required to pay a compensation fee equivalent to two months’ salary to facilitate an early exit from his agreement with the Algerian Ligue 1 champions.

"From the very southern part of the continent, where his star has sprouted as a distinguished coach, especially with the two most famous teams there, where his country's league dominates, but for now he has chosen to be here to lead the leader of the country and its most-crowned club," the club's statement on Facebook read.

His move from Algeria to Libya means that Mokwena will work together with his compatriot, Thembinkosi Lorch.

The former Sundowns and Orlando Pirates star joined Al-Ittihad recently from Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca, where they also worked together with Mokwena.

Over the weekend, the South African tactician was arrested by the Algerian authorities. As he prepared to leave the country and fly to Libya via Turkey, Mokwena found himself on the wrong side of the law as he was arrested for violating the country's currency regulations.

After his case was heard at the Dar El Beida Court, he received a suspended prison sentence.  The 39-year-old tactician has now opened up about what happened with the arrest and his trial.

“We were on our way to Istanbul, and there was I and three other staff members. And I felt a little bit guilty that I was the only one in business [class]. Then we got to the airport and went to the airline, and we were told we could upgrade the seats for the staff at the counter,” Mokwena told Robert Marawa on Marawa Sports Worldwide.

“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.

“Then tried to get some cash to pay, just to upgrade the seats, and after, we were told we had to do it online. We tried to do it online; it was rejected because it had shut down or the time had lapsed, whatever reason it may have been,” he further said.

“And then we were still stuck with the cash. There were four of us, and there was no one else that we could hand over the amount to. And that was the scenario.

“But I don’t know if you can steal your salary or money that you’ve worked very, very hard for for nine months; you’ve worked very, very hard for it, you know,” he concluded.