'Thibos' is well known for being a self-confessed Rastafarian and has been known to partake freely in the smoking of various products associated with the culture.
Asked if he ever played a PSL game under the influence of the 'holy herb', Mngomeni is not shy to reveal there may have been certain benefits.
"[Laughs] I'm a Rasta my brother, just put it that way, I'm a Rasta. So I lived my life as a Rasta and even now I'm a Rasta," Mngomeni tells snl24.com/kickoff.
"Remember we were not tested during our time. Those things came later, and we had to adjust. Yes, a bit yes [dagga enhanced performance]. I realised a difference when we were now tested. There would be a difference.
"When you smoked, you get into the game, you feel it. Sometimes you would not even realise it was half-time or find yourself asking, 'So soon it's full-time?'
"But I think I was lucky to realise quicker that now it's another era. Sometimes we would do it in the hotel before a game. Actually as Rastas we don't call it smoking, but 'praying'. That's how we communicate."
Marijuana is now legal for private use in South Africa but is prohibited for athletes, according to the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport.
Ex-Pirates midfielder Thandani Nthumayelo recently won his appeal against a four-year football ban after testing positive for cocaine. He served two years but remains without a club.
Although not permanently employed, Mngomeni remains involved in coaching in Cape Town and has a stable family life.
"My life at home is good, I can't complain my brother. Despite earning peanuts in my football career, I was lucky to think of buying myself a house. So I stay with my family. I've got my own house, my children and my wife. She's the same wife I was staying with when I was still playing," Mngomeni says.
"After retiring it was Sergio Dos Santos again who introduced me to coaching [after he scouted me playing for Tembu Royals]. I didn't see myself as someone who could coach.
"You see this white man helped me twice my brother. He is the one who introduced me to professional football, now I'm an instructor. We teach coaches how to coach.
"But it's doing nothing for me my brother, you find that there is a class in January, and the second one will be in June. Sometimes it takes the whole year, just like now there's nothing.
"My wife is the one who is taking care of me now. She works at the clinic my brother, she's a clerk."