Bosso history robbed in death

THE death of Sihlangu Dlodlo and Pathisa Nyathi robbed Highlanders and Zimbabwe of a great football history project.

Nyathi was renowned in the field while Dlodlo’s family has historical links and in the quest for more detail, there was a planned trip to Jambezi to meet his paternal aunt for more information on the formation of the club and about some of the founding fathers.

My love for sports history and legacy earned me a chance to nearly work with Nyathi and Dlodlo, two gentlemen from Bulawayo who shared a passion to tell stories.

Some five years ago or so, Highlanders approached Nyathi and myself to work on the Highlanders FC history project. We both agreed, it was a mammoth task worth undertaking for the preservation of history of the oldest surviving team in the country.

Prior to that, around 2010-12 Nyathi had asked me to list Highlanders’ successes and detail those that had been capped or left to play outside the country. He then wrote a motivation letter to the Bulawayo City Council then run by MDC requesting that civic honours be bestowed on the Club. Council meeting after meeting, we kept our hopes high that there would be a fitting honour for Bosso for all the great vibe it has brought to Bulawayo and the region.

It was never to be, hence the history project was a chance to make the MDC councillors see reason.

Bosso founded by grandsons of Ndebele royalty, Albert and Rhodes, is one of the oldest clubs in the land and most successful, only second to Dynamos who were formed in 1963.

Perhaps one stays correct to say one of the oldest as debate ensues with Hwange (once Wankie)and Shabanie Mine claiming to be older than Bosso.

Maybe Alexandra Sports Club formed around 1896 if it still exists in the capital, is the oldest surviving club as a social team.

While Nyathi was keen on a book project, my dream was a documentary and interest would even be greater after doing research on the George Shaya and Tymon Mabaleka projects four years ago.

In 2021, Nyathi said he would avail himself once he finished writing one of his books. It would be the same in 2022, but in 2023 after submitting the budget for the project, he would come back to me to say, he had lost interest.

It was also going to be difficult for me since in June last year I re-joined Zimpapers.

I had asked him to request from my employer for me to assist, something I felt could help Zimpapers Sports Hub’s Yesteryear Greats, as we would reach out to a wider audience of the Highlanders and Football Family.

He quit the project before he could write the letter.

As we discussed last year, I brought it to his attention that a lot of institutional memory was being lost through deaths of some iconic figures like John Sando and Daniel Rendo who between them had 130 years of football history, Ndumiso Gumede with over 50, these gentleman all of whom have died in the last three years.

I gave an example of David Mandigora, Simon Sachiti, Shaya and Misheck Chidzambwa who had been spoken to between June and July of 2001 but did not live to see the launch of the George Shaya Documentary in October of the same year.

Two months after watching the documentary in Bulawayo, I felt a sense of despair that Ndumiso Gumede, Tapiwa Mudyambanje, Shaky Toendepi Nyathi and Nkululeko Dlodlo had all died.

I did a round introducing who ever I felt was a former footballer or practitioner in the sport who deserved mention, when I got to Dlodlo, I shed tears.

When you are writing a historical fact, no one must dispute it, my inner football heart bled for Dlodlo as he was so brilliant as a junior but had sadly failed to scale heights of his earlier promise in Highlanders juniors.

Our wish was to capitalise on institutional memory and predecessor value and speak to opponents and those that were at Bosso before who could help stitch the history of the club to add to what I had gathered from Nsele Hlabangana a founding player of the club in 1926 whom I interviewed in September 1997.

From our discussions and lined up interviews which would have even entailed trips to Lonely Mine, Pupu, Gwatemba, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland and major towns in Zimbabwe where Highlanders played, I had no doubt Nyathi was going to write a great effort.

With board members Luke Mnkandla and Nicholas Nyathi keen on the project, Dlodlo came on board and spoke to me about the project and emphasis was on the people we had lost and more we could lose. One conversation was to the extent that those tasked to do the assignment should have done something by the time they depart.

We had so many positive discussions that ended with one tone, “Please write to my employer Zimpapers, if he says its fine, we will get on the job tomorrow provided, resources are availed.”

The project has failed to take off right through from Gumede, Nhlanhla Dube, Ronald Moyo and Dlodlo’s time.

Highlanders, Eagles, Eastlands, Cobras, AmaZulu, Railstars, Bulawayo Chiefs, Hwange, Rufaro Rovers, Black Horrors, Rangers, Gweru United, Zimbabwe Saints and Zisco, still have people who can tell the history of these clubs.

As African clubs, we can detail and write our own stories and provide as content for television audiences.
*The Writer, Lovemore Dube is the Zimpapers Sports Hub Co-ordinator in Bulawayo.