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Apart from being the Kings of Zimbabwean football in 2008, under Norman Mapeza, they also had the misfortune of falling into the trap of making a quick buck, when they allegedly masqueraded as the national team and played some matches in Asia, which are now part of match-fixing investigations. They also stand accused of throwing some game in the Champions league.
The director of the club, Solomon Mugavazi, was the first casualty when he was suspended from the
Zifa board, and what was to follow were life bans pronounced by Zifa to former club coach Rodwell Dhlakama and official Hope Chizuzu and bans to the then assistant coach, Taurai Mangwiro, now with Caps United, and former Monoz treasurer, Bekithemba “Far” Ndlovu and former manager Clayton Munemo, who were all given ten-year bans from football activities by the Zifa Independent Ethics Committee for their alleged roles in match- fixing.
In the initial report prepared by the Ndumiso Gumede-led committee to investigate match-fixing, part of the findings read; “Therefore after one game then they became very active members of the syndicate and that could be the reason why not even one official came back home and made a report officially to Zifa authorities about these evil happenings. It is only Onisimo Makwengura on the Monomotapa FC trip to Tunisia, who came back and alerted the authorities that ‘something’ was very untoward in our football.”
Makwangura’s evidence was later to be colloborated by former Monomotapa captain Mthulisi Maphosa who allegedly assaulted club manager Munemo over his and head coach Rodwell Dhlakama’s alleged roles in the defeat to Etoile du Sahel in a Champions League match in 2009. Munemo is alleged to have been on the phone for the better part of the match.
In his submission to Zifa, which seemingly saved his skin, Maphosa said:
“Our goalkeeper Godfrey Mangove, Vorster Chitemu and Luckmore Simango had briefed me about what transpired when they went to Malaysia where they had posed as the national team that they threw games. Mangove was the captain in Malaysia as I wasn’t there because I had an injury. They told me that he was the one (Mangove) who was talking with the guy who was giving them money after the games. He told me that the guy would give them signals when to concede a goal.
“That day against Etoile du Sahel it was raining so the pitch was a bit slippery. We conceded our first goal around 12-15 minutes from the start. The goal was a very soft one. Our goalkeeper slipped and fell on the ground while the ball went high, even a small boy could have avoided that goal.
“I went to pick up the ball from the nets encouraging the guys that we could even go on to win the game. To my surprise the goalkeeper, who I knew that every time he concedes a goal gets angry, was in that instance smiling. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked myself but couldn’t get the answer.
“Then came the second goal. Our defenders tried an offside trap, the striker penetrated coming from midfield so it wasn’t offside. That striker came face to face with the goalkeeper and hit the post. No defender made an effort and the striker took the ball and again another soft goal, in my opinion.
“I got injured and the referee had to stop the game so that I could be treated. While being treated on the pitch, Taurai Mangwiro, who was the assistant coach, came to me and said I should tell the boys that there is still plenty of time we could even win the game as we were having an upper hand.
“Dhlakama called Vorster Chitemu and said to him ‘kwasara one’. I didn’t understand what he meant. Then after the game, as usual, the coach and captain are the ones who go for after-match conferences.
“When they were preparing the chairs Dhlakama answered a call in English. After that call, he said to me Sisi called (and) she was just telling him that we were supposed to lose three-nil so we had lost some money. I then asked him who Sisi was and he said Henrietta Rushwaya.
“Clayton Munemo was standing at the door of the conference room. I stormed out of the conference room shouting that they had used us. ‘We came all the way from Zimbabwe wanting a victory and and a few players gained money by selling the game without our knowledge. I’m going to tell other players’. Munemo said I should calm down as this wasn’t the best place to discuss that kind of thing. I told other players that some of us, meaning every man who had played, had sold the game. If they don’t come out I would personally tell Mugavazi and Sibanda, the directors of the team.
“That is when the guys on the bench said definitely something was happening because Clayton Munemo never sat on the bench as every three or so minutes he was on the phone speaking in English. They even said they suspect that it must be the guys from Malaysia they saw when they played as the national team.
“When we reached the hotel we called the whole technical department for a meeting in my room. When they came I told the coaches that they had let us down by involving themselves in shoddy deals at our expense. Taurai Mangwiro said he was not part of it as he was surprised to hear Dlakama telling Vorster that they should concede another goal. Clayton kept on saying we lost as a team and we should not blame each other. I then told him how our goalkeeper conceded the first goal. Clayton ended up accusing me of inciting other guys to revolt….”
It’s a long interesting story of the fairytale of our football, which poor Monomotapa found themselves playing a big part in, and if what was said by the Zifa committee was true, then it would not be surprising one day to wake up and hear that the team has been demoted to Division Two. It has happened in other countries, Juventus paid dearly for their role in match-fixing in Italy and had to start in the lower league with a deficit of points, albeit after winning the title in the Premiership, but we do not have to put the cart before the horse on the Monomotapa case, the authorities that be, have to do their job, at their own time I suppose.
After a poor performance last season, they started the year on a good note and have been outstanding throughout the season. They beat Dynamos in the first half of the season and they did not stop at that, they are the only team to have defeated Highlanders this season.
Monoz were to hand Highlanders their first league defeat after 23 games in Harare, and a few weeks later, they showed that their win in Harare was not a fluke when they came from behind to boot Highlanders out of the Mbada Diamonds trophy in the quarter-finals 3-2 in Hwange. That they are the only team that has beaten Highlanders this season speaks volumes about their pedigree, not that there is something extraordinary about Highlanders, but they simply found the openings that all other teams in the Premiership have failed to find in the Bosso strategy, with only three games to go before the season ends.
Monoz are also third on the log, behind Highlanders and log leaders Dynamos, although they are already out of the championship race, which is now a two-horse race between the Big Two in the country.
But they still have an opportunity to open another chapter and add some more lines to their fairytale when they meet Dynamos in a league match tomorrow.
They should be the team that Highlanders followers hate with passion, but it is not the case. When they enter into the field of play tomorrow, the multitudes of Bosso fans worldwide will be wishing them well. The Highlanders family, for the first time, has their hopes on former Dynamos sons to breathe life into their championship hopes.
Monoz are coached by former Dynamos players, Biggie Zuze and Nkululeko Dhlamini, who are eager to make an impression and this week declared that they are not an extension of Dynamos and would fight for maximum points.
Assistant coach Dhlamini quashed fears of a ‘brotherly or neighbourly’ affair saying they were fighting for a third place finish to enhance their chances of another dance in the lucrative Caf Champions League.
“No, we will not stoop so low as a club to give away a game to Dynamos as being alleged. We have everything to fight for as we want at least a third place finish. The situation is not good for us because we lost on Wednesday and Chicken Inn posted a convincing win,” said Dhlamini.
“We cannot relax and surrender the game to Dynamos. Monomotapa are a professional side and as such will give it their best come Sunday. We will give Dynamos a good run for their money.”
Should Monomotapa prevail over Dynamos, which will be another out of this world outcome as the
Glamour Boys are now on fire, Highlanders will be the biggest beneficiaries, that is if they also pick maximum points against Hardbody in Gweru.
The Bulawayo giants travel to the City of Progress for the first time in four years since the demotion of Chapungu, and hope that they will keep the fire burning and keep the excitement in this year’s Castle Lager Premiership alive until the last minute of the season. The question is can the Dynamos sons save Highlanders?.
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Online Reporter