Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WHEN the dreams of a young refugee seemed to collapse under the weight of identity papers he did not have, his father gave him a reason to hold on.
“Look, Tshipamba,” his father Alphonse told him. “One day, we will eat bread bought from your football earnings. Never try to leave the game.”
That was in 2017, and Tshipamba Babadi, then a bright-eyed teenager at the Tongogara Refugee Camp in Chipinge, was ready to abandon football altogether.
He had just wowed legendary coach Lloyd Mutasa at a social tournament in nearby Mutema village.
Mutasa, then at the helm of Dynamos, was ready to sign him on the spot, until it emerged Babadi lacked the documentation needed to register as a player.
The heartbreak was overwhelming.
“I didn’t want to hear anything to do with football again,” said Babadi, who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. “It is a game that I loved and that I had thought would at least give me an identity, and when the opportunity presented itself, the lack of that very identity worked against me.
“It was disheartening, and all I wanted was to walk out of the game and forget about the chapter.”
But his father’s words, spoken with the gentle firmness only a parent can muster, echoed in his heart like a divine directive.
Today, those words are no longer a distant memory. They are prophecy fulfilled.
Babadi, now 22, has signed for Premier Soccer League side Manica Diamonds, becoming only the second refugee in Zimbabwe’s history to play in the top flight after Ngandu Mangala turned out for Dynamos and Black Rhinos.
His journey from a camp boy playing barefoot in the dust to the elite fields of Zimbabwean football is not just a personal triumph; it is a powerful statement about resilience, community and the transformative power of sport.
“It didn’t all begin at Tongogara United,” he said of the refugee settlement team he starred for in the Eastern Region Soccer League. “But that’s where I think I played really well because it’s a team for refugees. I was driving myself to the limits, knowing this team represents us.”
And drive he did.
In just 15 matches for Tongogara United, Babadi netted 11 goals, finishing as the leading scorer before Manica Diamonds swooped in.
The club’s formation in 2022 marked a new chapter in refugee football, made possible by the vision of Tongogara Settlement administrator Johanne Mhlanga.
“Mhlanga should get credit for ensuring that, as refugees, we have a team to call our own,” said Babadi, who also credits Mutasa for guiding him through the difficult years.
“I found myself at Mutare City and later at GreenFuel, all through Mutasa’s recommendations. At GreenFuel, he coached me himself and really understood me.”
Mhlanga says Babadi’s success reflects much more than a personal milestone.
“The creation of Tongogara United was about more than just football,” he explained. “It was a deliberate effort to promote hope, unity and resilience within the refugee community. It’s a platform to challenge myths that portray refugees as passive recipients of aid.”
For Mhlanga, the team’s journey has affirmed Zimbabwe’s hospitality and the nation’s commitment to “leaving no one and no place behind”.
Tongogara United’s coach, Valentine Mukwashi, believes Babadi has set the gold standard.
“He is an exemplary figure, who has shown the way by doing exactly what the team represents,” said Mukwashi. “His success is a clear indication of what’s possible when opportunity meets dedication.”
Babadi’s father, Alphonse, is overwhelmed with pride. I would like to thank the Government of Zimbabwe for sheltering us here at Tongogara Refugee Camp,” he said. “It is here where I first started to notice Tshipamba’s talent, but I never thought he would go on to make it big.
“I am very happy and I wish to see him shine on, even in the best leagues in the world, and inspire many refugees across the globe.”
For Babadi, joining Manica Diamonds is just the beginning.
He is clear about his mission: to represent not just himself, but the entire refugee community, both in Zimbabwe and beyond.
“This is what I always wanted,” he said. “To play in the premiership and to represent my people. It’s about proving that we, too, can make it.”
Babadi draws inspiration from global stars like Eduardo Camavinga, Alphonso Davies, Victor Moses and Luka Modric, fellow footballers who started life as refugees and went on to shine at the highest level.
His story is a rare blend of persistence and poetry, of broken beginnings and triumphant ends. And, as he prepares to take the field with Manica Diamonds, he does so not only in honour of his own dreams, but also in fulfilment of a father’s quiet faith.
Online Reporter