Mbabane Highlanders AM revive traditional colours at Mkhize-led homecoming

Shauwn Mkhize led an exuberant homecoming celebration for Mbabane Highlanders AM in Eswatini, where the club also unveiled three new kits, including the return of its traditional black and white strip.

The South African business tycoon, known to many as MamKhize, took centre stage as Highlanders AM began their new campaign with a high-energy ceremony attended by the club’s supporters.

The event brought large parts of the streets to life, with fans gathering along the roads to wave, ululate and celebrate the club. Convoys of cars and buses moved through the streets as the homecoming ceremony unfolded in a carnival-like atmosphere.

The occasion also provided the club with an opportunity to present its new playing kits for the upcoming season. The most significant of the three designs was the reintroduction of the black and white colours traditionally associated with Highlanders AM.

Supporters had been calling for the club to bring back its familiar strip, and Mkhize responded to that demand by restoring the colours. The decision gives the new kit a clear connection to the club’s history while marking the start of the 2026/27 campaign.

“We are happy to unveil the three kits that we will use in the upcoming season. We have also reintroduced the black and white kit, which will unite us, as I like a united family,” Mkhize said, according to the Times of Eswatini.

The club also highlighted the significance of the change in a statement accompanying the launch.

“After a one-year hiatus, the traditional black and white returns.

“Not simply as colours, but as a statement of who we are; our heritage, our identity, our pride.

“For 2026/27, we return to the roots that built us, wearing the colours that have carried generations before us.”

The unveiling formed part of a wider public celebration designed to welcome Mbabane Highlanders AM back and build momentum around the club’s new campaign.

Mkhize’s prominent role in the ceremony reflected her leadership of the occasion, as she joined supporters and the club in presenting the team to the public. The celebrations continued through the streets, where the presence of the travelling convoys and large groups of fans created a noisy and colourful backdrop to the kit launch.

For Highlanders AM, the return of the black and white strip is intended to represent more than a change in appearance. The club described it as a link to its heritage, identity and pride, while Mkhize said the colours would help unite the team and its supporters like a family.

The homecoming and kit unveiling therefore combined the start of a new season with a return to the club’s traditional visual identity.