Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
RONALD MUJURU’S mother Shelly (née Mujeri) said she was surprised to see her son wearing a smile for the first time in close to a week when Dynamos visited his residence in Tynwald North, Harare yesterday.
Mujuru has drawn the attention of the whole country after he lost his entire family including wife Lilian (40) and kids Nokutenda (15), Makanaka (13), Ronald Jnr (11), Rufaro Shalom (7) and Kayden (3) in an accident along the Masvingo-Harare highway near Chatsworth turn-off last Thursday.
The sheer depth of the loss has seen the whole country commiserating with Mujuru, an ardent DeMbare fan who rarely misses the Glamour Boys matches.
His family was buried at the family farm, side-by-side, in Wilshire, Chivhu on Sunday, just a day before Easter Monday when they would have returned to Harare from Mberengwa where they were travelling to for a Latterrain Saints Church Conference when the accident wiped them.
Dynamos were in action against Simba Bhora on burial day and observed a moment of silence in memory of their fan’s family and even dedicated the 1-0 win they picked to their departed souls.
And yesterday, led by their chief executive officer Desmond Bvute and secretary general Divine Sena, the Glamour Boys paid Mujuru a visit to console him.
As they made a beeline from their bus into the yard, grief was written all over with Mujuru standing right in there to welcome them.
He spent at least a minute with each of them, hugging, and sadly sobbing.
It felt right like what happened when the bodies made their final journeys into the home last Saturday.
But after gathering in his lounge with prayers being led by cheerleader Chris “Romario” Musekiwa, the atmosphere lightened up, a bit, of course, and Mujuru was able to say thank you to the team.
His relatives travelled with him from Chivhu; aunties, uncles, friends, are all in Tynwald staying with Mujuru and they couldn’t believe it when he joined the team in song.
“I am shocked that he was able to really get to jump and smile with the Dynamos players and members of the team executive as well as fans,” said his mother Shelly.
“My heart is broken. I don’t have sufficient words to tell him. I was very close to my daughter-in-law and my grandchildren.
“When I visited here or when they visited me in Chivhu, I knew I would need a lot of strength to be able to withstand them because they would cling to me. All that is now history, I am really struggling to think this is real.
“I am trying all I can to comfort my son. The First Lady, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa was here yesterday (on Tuesday) and now the coming of Dynamos has really helped him in what will be a lengthy recovery process.”
Mujuru himself dragged this reporter along with Musekiwa at the side and said: “I am now a bit lighter after seeing Dynamos coming to pay their condolences.
“I feel like a huge lump on my chest has been removed. I am very happy to say the least. You know when you see a team, very close to your heart, a team that is your second home coming to your first home to say sorry, it just means everything…”
Dynamos have purchased a season ticket on top of their significant condolence token for Mujuru.
Sena said the Glamour Boys will make frequent visits to the Mujuru residence.
“Ronald Mujuru is one of our own,” said Sena.
“We have a season VVIP ticket for him with us and we want to make sure he feels warm in our arms.
‘‘The situation he is in is very terrible but as Dynamos we will play our part to ensure that everything becomes a bit easier for him.”
Inside that lounge, as Mujuru’s relatives and Dynamos members gave their speeches, some of them punctuated by jokes to ease the atmosphere up, a certain lady cut a forlorn figure, seemingly totally uninterested.
She is Precious Mukondo, the Mujuru family maid, who in hindsight could have been in the same Toyota Corolla vehicle that crashed and took away the six precious lives when clashing head-on with a Mercedes Benz truck.
Mukondo is the one who actually received the ominous phone call from a police officer who called using her boss, Lillian’s cellphone.
“I am still at a loss for words,” she said, wiping tears.
“Mom (Lillian) and the kids were going to a Church Conference. I used to go with them but this time I said I wasn’t going.
“She just said goodbye as she always does when she was leaving. I didn’t know that was the last she could physically say to me. I then received a call in the afternoon from the police. I became scared from what he was asking me.
“I became so confused especially after they asked me the address. I then called my father (Mujuru) and that’s when I gave him the number to talk to the police. It’s terrible but I would like to thank Dynamos for coming to cheer the family up.”
As Dynamos made their way back to town, Mujuru smiled as he headed back into the gate where his kith and kin were standing, smiling at the gesture by the biggest club on land.
