The Sunday News
How we met?
My first encounter with Ernest Sibanda was when he was team manager for Highlanders Football Club way back in 1998. It was in the off-season when we were playing money games at Ross Camp Stadium. I was playing for Makwee, a local team from the hood in Makokoba.
He approached me and told me that they wanted to build the team around me and wondered why I was playing in Botswana. We had a frank man to man talk where I told him that the reason why I had opted for Botswana was due to lack of game time at Highlanders under then coach Madinda Ndlovu.
The manager guaranteed me of game time if I agreed to sign for Bosso. I was offered a blank cheque by Zimbabwe Saints by then chairman Canaan Muguti when I trained for two weeks as I tried to avoid Maphepha because I had been in the system before and did not trust him.
He approached me on a Thursday when Highlanders were preparing to play against Dynamos in the Cosmos Cellular Cup at Barbourfields Stadium and told me to join camp even if I had not trained with Highlanders.
He guided me straight into camp and I played my first competitive game against Dynamos and scored a beautiful goal. After the game he told me he believed in me and wanted to ensure that I am part of the long-term project. He made me feel comfortable in the team as he believed in me when others doubted my capabilities. This meant a lot to me and my commitment became emotional.
Special moments that I will cherish forever
1) Maphepha drove his new Hyundai car to get my reverse clearance from Orapa in Botswana. He used his personal resources to reignite my career
2) We engaged and bonded as he become a father figure and taught me things that my own father did not. Key aspects of life like marriage and stability; getting own accommodation and investing for the future.
3) He sacrificed his car at times and gave it to me to do school runs for my children when mine had an accident. He chose to board commuter omnibuses when I used his car. The kind of love and selflessness meant a lot to me. Ernest has a golden heart, he thinks about the next person.
His love for Highlanders was undoubted as evidenced by the numerous resources that he gave to the team. Despite all the bad publicity and name calling, his love for the institution (Highlanders), never changed despite being a villain of a system that he spent so much time and dedication, he never backed off.
Maphepha’s Golden Heart
– A selfless leader who thought about the next person. This made it easier for me to stand in your corner even at the lowest points in your life when no one else wanted to hear your name.
– A great unifier who wants peace, he links the older generations of football to the current playing crop.
– You were born a leader as everything that you touched turned into gold i.e. the Archers Darts team in addition to your success at Highlanders, Bantu Rovers and Bulawayo City as well as the national team.
– A larger than life character who made friends easier with a lot of composure. I cannot remember your angry face, all I know is your chuckle and smile even in the darkest hour when your friends turned their backs on you.
– I am not ashamed to be associated with you and this goes to some people like Bro Fiso Siziba, Omega Sibanda, Jerry Sibanda who stood for you when it was difficult to convince people that you are a good administrator. This earned us enemies who still do not talk to us and guess what, it is what brings us closer to you than ever.
– You made your office a welcoming home 24/7, even in your absence your business partner Farai Chirongoma would make people feel at home.
– You were so close to the 1998 generation at Highlanders and would visit every player much more than the players that you played with.
– I always knew how big you are even though you humbled yourself. At the darkest hour of life when rumours were circulating, I received numerous calls from very important people who wanted to confirm your status. Even those that spent years fighting you called me and I honestly do not know if they were indeed sincere, but this confirmed my belief that you are a great man.
Fight on Warrior!
– You have won many physical, emotional, spiritual and medical battles and this one is not an exception
– We give all the glory to God to show his mercy and power on his servant. A dedicated St Joseph’s Man Association member at St Pius Roman Catholic in Njube. You unreservedly showed your faith and belief as you were inducted in our presence. We leave everything to God and his healing hands.
Go well Warrior!
– Go well Tshindi Tshindi, Zibotoboto, Chief Mazibeka, Perpex, Maphepha. I am privileged to have celebrated you and given you roses whilst still alive.
Article written by former Highlanders and Warriors striker Zenzo Moyo. The article was first published on Sunday when Maphepha was still in hospital.
