CHAUYA CHIKWATA! As Zimbabwe Saints bounces back

Lovemore Dube

ZIMBABWE Saints is back.

They will be playing in the Zifa Southern Region after buying the franchise of Makwika United.

The two factions at the club decided to smoke a peace pipe on Monday and ensure Saints gets back to playing football.

An elated Ishmael Kaguru, chairman of the Saints board and Tawanda Ruzive, chairman of the other group’s executive confirmed on Tuesday morning that they have put their differences together in honour of the club badge.

“I am glad we have managed to put our differences together and said Saints must be the winner. Right now we are working on a letter to send to Zifa and also pay the relevant fees,” said Ruzive.

Doors had seemed shut out for the club on Saturday after their matter was not discussed at the Zifa Southern Region annual general meeting in Esigodini.

Gibson Homela and Martin Mabvira had attended the meeting hoping that the club’s issue of a banked franchise would come up. They were stunned when the subject did not come up for discussion living them distraught.

Last year Saints who owed Zifa could not be registered in the league and one of the factions had asked for their franchise to be banked to be redeemed in 2026 a time they prayed they would have resolved in-house matters that had spilled into the courts.

Ruzive had his suspension lifted by the other parties and they are now expected to withdraw another case against Vincent Pamire over the Deed of Trust he holds whose legitimacy they were querying.

The other faction attended the meeting on the Makwika United ticket after acquiring the franchise two weeks ago.

They were due to start negotiations for name change this week.

But a series of meetings between the feuding parties, one with Ruzive as chairman and Pamire, the head of the trustees body and Kaguru’s, ended with one goal, unity.

“I am excited that we have found each other. Nothing can beat a united Chikwata. We exist to play football and we will be back on the pitch ready to reclaim our place and stature in Zimbabwe football,” said Ruzive.

Both Kaguru and Ruzive invited supporters to rally behind the latest initiative aimed at preserving the legacy of one of the oldest and most successful football bodies in the land.