adminLangton Nyakwenda
SHE now lies next to her mother Venencia Nyamadzawo’s grave in Mutonda Village on the peripheries of Domboshawa, but the late Egna’s story is still shaking the football fraternity a week after her tragic death.
The late 38-year-old Egna Nyamadzawo, a renowned “hustler” par excellence who globe-trotted in search of goods for resale, was trampled to death in a stampede at the National Sports Stadium, a few minutes before Zimbabwe’s match against Congo last Sunday.
By the time Khama Billiat and skipper Knowledge Musona were through with Congo, scoring a goal apiece to ensure Zimbabwe’s qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals, Nyamadzawo’s body lay motionless at Parirenyatwa Mortuary.
Her hopes of watching the crucial AFCON qualifier in the company of her husband Mike Mapinga and their two-year-old son Leon, were quashed by an impatient crowd which pushed and forced one of the gates at the National Sports to collapse on her.
But, as discovered by The Sunday Mail at her burial last week, it seems the late Egna might have had a premonition of her death, three days before disaster struck.
As revealed by her cousin Faith, Egna spoke a lot about some of her debtors, her investments and the need to smoothen her marriage on the Thursday before the Sunday she died.
“Egna invited me to her house, in Msasa Park, and asked if we could have supper together and talk.
“It was a Thursday, I think, and we spoke up until after midnight.
“We were very close and she told me a lot of things, she told me about the money she had in her house, she also told me about the people who owed her money,” revealed Faith at the burial site last Wednesday.
“We also talked about her husband, and how eager she was to improve her marriage.
“That is one of the reason why she bought the tickets for the match, to spend time with him.”
What still baffles Egna’s 101-year-old father Zakaria Nyamadzawo though, is her late daughter’s new found love for football.
“Growing up she never liked sports, instead anga ari mu Salvation Army akakwana (she was a devout Salvation Army congregant) and I was surprised when I heard she had died at a football match,” said the grieving father.
Hundreds of mourners including Zifa president Felton Kamambo, Northern Region treasurer Sweeney Mushonga, Dynamos legend Moses “Bambo” Chunga and renowned Warriors supporters including Chris “Romario” Musekiwa attended the burial last Wednesday afternoon.
Zifa chipped in with $3 000 towards funeral costs while Friends of the Warriors chairman Edward Chimedza said his association would sponsor one volunteer from the Nyamadzawo family to attend the AFCON finals in Egypt in June.
“We are even advocating that the surviving husband gets a life ticket for all the Warriors’ home games,” Chimedza told The Sunday Mail.
As her coffin was lowered into the grave, almost everyone present talked about a “soft” Egna who was loved by many and helped many.
A determined indigenous businesswoman and a renowned hustler who will be remembered by many.
Online Reporter