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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
DOMESTIC football was plunged into mourning again yesterday when one of its unheralded stars, former Mhangura and Black Rhinos midfield star, Gift “Guava” Kamuriwo, died in Harare at the age of 46.
Kamuriwo passed away at a military hospital yesterday after battling a long illness.
“The Black Rhinos family has learnt with shock and dismay the passing on of one of our longest-serving sons, Gift Kamuriwo after a long illness,” said a statement from Black Rhinos secretary-general Edward Mutukwa.
“We are poorer without him. The value he has added to our brand, Black Rhinos, is enormous. He was part of the early 2000s squad, along with the likes of Britto Gwere, Ndega Matsika, Brighton Chandisaita, Kastigu Juwakinyu, Lloyd Dematsika, among others.
“That team did well and they remain the last generation to have delivered silverware at the club, in the form of the Independence Trophy.
“He will be dearly missed by everyone at Black Rhinos, including former players, administrators and supporters. May his soul rest in peace.”
Ngezi Platinum Stars coach, Rodwell Dhlakama, who worked with Kamuriwo when they guided the ZDF Select teams in 2018 and 2019, described him as a humble and knowledgeable coach.
“I worked with him in the ZDF games against the Malawi Defence Forces, as well as the Lesotho Defence Forces in 2018 and 2019,’’ said Dhlakama.
“We won gold on both occasions. He was humble and knowledgeable. He was an enthusiastic and energetic coach whose skills will be hard to replace.
“I am devastated by his passing on and I am still in shock. What I know is that Kamuriwo was yet to realise his full potential both as a coach, and as an administrator.”
THE ZIFA Northern Region Soccer League, through their board member finance, Sweeny Mushonga, said Kamuriwo will be dearly missed.
“We have learnt of the passing on of Gift Kamuriwo with a heavy heart. This is a massive blow to the football fraternity, in general, and to us, as Northern Region Division One, where he gave his services for a period spanning for over a decade as a player with clubs like Mhangura, AirZim Jets and Black Rhinos.
“He was also an assistant coach at Twalumba and Rhinos as well.
“We are with the bereaved family in prayers and we say may his soul rest in eternal peace.”
Kamuriwo was part of the Mhangura side which finished as BP Cup finalists in 1995 and 1998 while he also managed a runner-up finish in the 2002 Premier Soccer League title race with Rhinos.
He also featured for the Warriors in the 2003 Cosafa Cup.
A genuinely talented midfielder, he was a master of his art and is one of the players whose real value was never appreciated.
He also had coaching a stint with Seven Flames, in Division Two, in 2012 before assuming the role of an assistant coach at Cranborne Bullets.
He then bounced back at Rhinos, as team manager, until his sacking in 2019 after being implicated in a match-fixing scam.
Kamuriwo was serving a three-year ban, from football activities, due to the match-fixing allegations, at the time of his death.
Online Reporter