Chronicle Editor
MANY players will look back and chide their strict former mentors and fail to appreciate the intended goal.
Twenty three years down the line Malachi Mukahanana is grateful to Bennedict Moyo who handled him with a firm hand at Ziscosteel Football Club. Moyo would not allow his player even to touch an empty beer bottle. The player would not even take fizzy drinks. Moyo was hard on him and when Mukahanana looks back, there is no sense of regret, the coach meant well for him.
“Moyo took me as his son. He was strict with me. I did not drink fizzy drinks nor would he be happy with me carrying an empty bottle of a lager. He did not want to see me drinking fizzy drinks, it had to be juices,” said Mukahanana.
Mukahanana to this date does not drink nor smoke and he is happy with his healthy lifestyle.
“To be honest I am happy with life without beer and drunks, Moyo and my family were instrumental in that life for that I will always be grateful,” said the former defender who arrived at Zisco in 1997 hopeful of playing as a centreback.
But when he got there in 1997, Admire Zingwe was club captain tall and towering with a bit of charisma, he could not be shrugged off. Mukahanana had to settle for rightback position.
Mukahanana was arriving from Air Zimbabwe Jets where he had tasted Premiership football straight from Bulawayo’s Division Two side, Otrick Spares. “I was getting into groove with my football, a journey that started in 1991 when I joined the Highlanders Under-14s and played with the likes of Simon Sibanda, Faazil Mohamed, Thulani Ncube and Roy Cele. I played for the Under-14s and 16s.
“In 1993 I moved to Zimbabwe Saints juniors where we trained under Jani Gwede and later Lazarus Zimangi. I worked under very good coaches even at Highlanders FC where we had Ali “Baba” Dube. At Saints I was with Cele, Gift Lunga (Jnr) and Motani Sibanda. Those were great days and in 1995 I moved to Otrick Spares under Otrick Siziba a former Zifa official,” said Mukahanana.
Playing as a centreback he found himself invited to Air Zimbabwe Jets in 1996. He had been invited there by Lloyd Jowa and Richard Choruma. He went with Nkosana Maronga and Motani Sibanda.
“We played with the likes of Zvidzai Kunaka, Hubert Munjanja and Harrington Shereni,” said Mukahanana. He would only last a year and in 1997 he found himself with his former Otrick Spares teammate Collin Nyambiya at Ziscosteel.
When he arrived at Ziscosteel Bennedict Moyo embraced him as if he was his own son.
“I learnt so much about life and the game. I stayed by myself and Moyo would give me so much about the game to read and I enjoyed my stay there. I played some of my best football. I was meant to play centreback but with the captain being one of them I was shoved to the wing where I played with very good players at the club like Willard Khumalo, Dick Moyana, Nyambiya, Moses Mudzingwa, John Banda, Stephen Matsaira and Mandla Mpofu. We got relegated in 1999 after losing 5-0 to Bosso in the final match. It was sad to see such talent go to Division One,” said Mukahanana. He rates the Thabani Masawi, Siza Khoza and Zenzo Moyo as the best strikeforce he faced. Moyo was aggressive, big as well while Masawi was skilful and intelligent. Keeping pace with Khoza was a nightmare for any defender.
“Coach Bennedict Moyo had invited Lunga (Jnr), Anzilom and Cele for the trial but at the last minute decided against taking the former Bosso leftback I suppose out of respect for the club,” said Mukahanana. Mukahanana had a dance with Tongogara in 2001 after the army side loaned out Brito Gwere and Melody Wafawanaka to Highlanders. “Zisco loaned me out to replace Wafawanaka and Brito who had moved to Highlanders that year,” said Mukahanana.
Good in one-on-one situations with pace and skill, Mukahanana put everything into his game every time he was on the field. He was a good crosser of the ball too.
After a year at Tongogara he got another loan deal at Lancashire Steel and remembers playing with the likes of Costa Maradzike, Moses Mwafulirwa, Fetrigo Satiago, Stephen Sande, Petros Sibanda, Luke Petros-Jukulile, Albert Mbano and Farai Vandira.
“The two Redcliff/Kwekwe teams were good. They had good players and sadly they are no more. They left a void in the Midlands football which needs filling,” said Mukahanana.
He was born on 11 January 1977 in Bulawayo.
He attended Ross Camp Primary School and Mount Jenya in Honde Valley, Manicaland Province for his secondary school.
He returned to Bulawayo to train as a mechanic, grooming which helped him to join the family business in Cape Town where they are into construction and have coaches that ply the Zimbabwe route.
Married to Marryl Khumalo with four children, Mukahanana when he turned his back on the game to look for formal employment he never entertained the coaching badges idea.
“It never crossed my mind to want to coach. Maybe some day I may consider it,” he said.
His father Malachias was part of the Zimbabwe Saints executive whose team was beaten 5-2 in a replayed Chibuku Trophy final in 1979 by Caps United.
That was after the two teams had played a 3-3 stalemate in the first match at Rufaro Stadium.
The replay was played in Bulawayo and Chikwata could not stop the marauding Caps United led by Shaky Tauro, Stix Mtizwa, Joel Shambo and Stanley Ndunduma.
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