Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
HE was not supposed to make it this far, at least not by the hand that life had dealt him.
But Stewart “Shutto” Murisa defied the odds, broke through stigma and danced with destiny on dusty pitches and national stadiums alike.
And now, the former Warriors striker is telling it all — raw, unscripted and unflinchingly real.
His newly penned autobiography, “Stewart Murisa Shutto 15: The Untold Story”, authored by United Kingdom-based former Zimpapers journalist Clemence Marijeni, is set for release on July 19, just a day after the retired footballer’s birthday.
The book is a riveting account of Murisa’s journey from the crime-riddled streets of St Mary’s in Chitungwiza to the bright lights of professional football.
It is not just about goals and glory; it is about survival, identity and redemption.
“We are done with the autobiography, a candid revelation of my life history. A lot of secrets are revealed in this book,” Murisa told Zimpapers Sports Hub from his current base in the UK.
While controversial cleric and socialite Prophet Passion Java might be the more recognisable name today, his late father, Charles Java, played a pivotal behind-the-scenes role in Zimbabwean football history.
As secretary at the now-defunct Premier Soccer League outfit Darryn T, Charles is credited with popularising the moniker “Shutto”, albeit a mispronunciation of “Stutto”, a nickname Murisa earned on the streets.
The late sungura legend, John Chibadura, affectionately dubbed “Mr Chitungwiza”, also featured in Murisa’s early life.
Unbeknown to many, Chibadura played a role in inspiring Murisa’s football career. Their shared roots in Chitungwiza were more than geographic; they were generational.
Perhaps one of the most shocking revelations in the book is Murisa’s unwitting involvement in age cheating, a practice that has haunted African football for decades.
The autobiography exposes, dissects and ultimately humanises the pressures that led to those choices.
If football gave Murisa a career, it also filled a void left by a father he never knew.
“My father Paul Makwinja did not play a part in my life, and I only came to know about him when I was 31,” Murisa writes.
“Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to establish a relationship with him because he was dead by the time I knew that he was my biological father.”
That paternal absence was later filled, at least in spirit, by Polish coach Wieslaw Grabowski.
In one emotional chapter, Murisa refers to the former Darryn T and national team coach as “a fitting father”.
The autobiography pays homage to the mentors who helped shape his career. They include Never Gombera, Steve “Dude” Kwashi, Moses “Bambo” Chunga, Clive Barker, Roger De Sa and Ernest “Maphepha” Sibanda.
Sibanda, then Highlanders team manager, oversaw Bosso’s fourth consecutive league title in 2002, with Murisa leading the line.
It was the crowning jewel in a career that had already seen Murisa turn out for all of Zimbabwe’s “Big Three” — Dynamos, CAPS United and Highlanders.
His mother, Gladys, was a national netball star, one of Zimbabwe’s best.
There is a surreal moment in the book when both mother and son, each representing their country in different sports, share a flight to a national assignment.
Murisa’s love for Darryn T is palpable throughout the book.
That is where it all began, where a boy from St Mary’s transformed into a top-flight striker.
He starred in the iconic 1991 Castle Cup final, where Darryn T demolished CAPS United 4-0 at Rufaro.
He shared the pitch with some of the game’s finest, but none left an impression quite like Derby Makinka, the late Zambian midfielder who perished in the 1993 Gabon plane crash.
“I have been fortunate in my career to have played alongside and against some great players,” Murisa says.
“Yes, those boys at Darryn T were rendered great by their collective will . . . But I never met an individual as talented as Zambian midfielder Derby Makinka was.”
Murisa retired on November 21, 2015, and later relocated to England.
But his story, as told in this autobiography, is less about the games he played but more about the man he became.
It’s a story of triumph without trumpets, heartbreak without bitterness and, ultimately, a reckoning with truth.
“Stewart Murisa Shutto 15: The Untold Story” is not just a football memoir, it’s a raw, emotional excavation of a life that was never meant to be ordinary.
Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter