By Mo Allie BBC Sport, Cape Town

Dikulu had no contract at TP Mazembe

DR Congo defender Serge Begeta Dikulu has won an important court case that would allow African footballers without contracts to become free agents in South Africa.

The Cape High Court ordered the Premier League to register Dikulu with his new club Ajax Cape Town, despite the refusal of his former Congolese team, TP Mazembe, to issue his international clearance certificate.

Dikulu told the court that he was never given a formal contract by Mazembe throughout his years there.

"About 70 percent of footballers in the DRC don't have contracts with their clubs," said Ajax Cape Town chief executive John Comitis.

"Many players are tied to their clubs by nothing more than verbal agreements."

Dikulu is one of four Mazembe players signed by Ajax Cape Town for the new season.

Comitis revealed that he had paid TP Mazembe 500,000 rand (about $70,000) for three players - Mulekayi Kanku, Tsholola Tshinyama, and Cyrille Kitambala.

70 percent of footballers in the DRC don't have contracts Ajax chief executive John Comitis

"We paid TP Mazembe the money as an ex-gratia fee - a goodwill offering to show we didn't want their players without paying for them," said Comitis.

But he claimed that TP Mazembe boss Moise Kitumbe gave him the merry-go-round when they declared their interest in Dikulu.

A series of transfer negotiations scheduled for Durban and Johannesburg, when the Congolese club were in South Africa for the recent Vodacom Challenge, failed to take place.

"Dikulu had already signed a contract with us and because Mazembe were not prepared to release him we had no option but to take the matter to court," Comitis explained.

"Our representations to DRC's Football Federation got no response."

Comitis believes the recent ruling will stop a trend where players without written contracts can be held hostage by clubs when they seek to move abroad.