Robson Sharuko
THE Bible tells us that on the SEVENTH day, God rested.
That’s what Genesis 2:2-3 tells us and, from that moment, the number SEVEN takes a special place in religion and, in a way, in our lives.
It represents the Sabbath and the Muslim pilgrims walk around the Kalaba in Mecca SEVEN times during the Hajj.
There are SEVEN days in a week and there are SEVEN colours in a rainbow.
Yesterday marked the SEVENTH day since the helicopter crash, near Marondera, which killed businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife Lucy.
Their aide Saneliswe Magagula and two pilots – Calvin Tafirei Soda and Courage Mutavirwa – also died in the same crash.
Chivayo was quite a religious man.
He was a member of the Johane Masowe yeChishanu and he loved to share his religious adventures with his huge army of social media followers.
Sometimes, he even jokingly called himself “Mukuru Wemazuva.”
But, Chivayo was always different – in life just like in death.
While members of the Johane Masowe yeChishanu faith are typically buried without coffins, his remains will be buried today in a casket at Glen Forest.
Yesterday, on the SEVENTH day after the crash which claimed their lives, the remains of the businessman, and his wife, were brought to their Gletwyn mansion.
Chivayo also loved FOOTBALL.
He was a major sponsor of champions Scottland and a major benefactor of Highlanders who revealed that, in the past two years, he had poured more than US$2 million, into their coffers.
He also acquired a luxury coach for Bosso and another luxury coach, which he acquired for Dynamos, is on the way.
He secured a car for DeMbare board chairman, Bernard Marriot, and also showered him with cash.
In the last SEVEN days, since his death, a number of events, dominated by the number SEVEN, have unfolded in the game which he loved with a lot of passion.
Here are some of them:
• The Young Warriors, who were in action on the day he died, completed a crushing win over Mauritius in their 2028 Olympics Games qualifier on Tuesday night (6-1 on aggregate). The total number of goals scored in both legs was SEVEN.
• He was said to have been a key figure in the introduction of the US$25 million Munhumutapa Challenge Cup. The three quarter-final matches, played in Harare and Bulawayo, where he has sponsored clubs, produced SEVEN goals (three for FC Platinum and four for CAPS and Hunters).
• Three of the matches were decided by the penalty shootout lottery and SEVEN penalties were missed in these games.
• ZIFA love hiring coaches from Croatia and the latest is Mighty Warriors gaffer Stella Gotal. Her senior men’s national team crashed to their biggest defeat in history in a SEVEN goal humiliation at the hands of England on Saturday.
• A Spanish coach, Marc Sanchez, guided the Young Warriors to success over Mauritius over two legs, which produced a total of SEVEN goals. His country’s Under-21 side scored SEVEN goals, in their 7-1 win over Romania on Tuesday night.
• Two other teams scored SEVEN goals in their wins in the Euro Under-21 Championship matches on Tuesday night – France (7-1 win over Switzerland) and Austria (7-1 win over Wales).
• Even in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, MK Dons, a team which doesn’t have a record of being prolific, scored SEVEN times in a 7-1 win over Brentford Under-21.
• Cristiano’s iconic number SEVEN jersey in the Portuguese national team, which he inherited from Luis Figo in May 2008, was given to Rafael Leao.
• Argentina waved goodbye to Lionel Messi in the early hours of yesterday, just a few days after scoring SEVEN goals in a hammering of Burkina Faso, in a friendly international.
• Chivayo’s love for rugby was something that we didn’t know. What we know is he loved Cape Town and paraded the mansion he bought in the Mother City, where one of his neighbours was the celebrated DJ Black Coffee. Yesterday, the local rugby side, DHL Stormers, named SEVEN Springboks, for their first game of the season set for Saturday.
