Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE story of Webster “Jita” Tafa is not just about football.
It is about grit, survival and an unbreakable bond between a player and the people who raised him.
Bindura, a mining town better known for gold and maize than football dreams, found its heart again when Simba Bhora won promotion into the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in 2023.
But what truly rekindled that spark was not the club itself but a man anchoring their defence.
Tafa (31) commands the backline with calm authority and rare consistency. His composure, timing and intelligence have turned him into the cornerstone of Simba Bhora’s rise.
Yet, to the people of Bindura, he will always be “the peanut butter boy”, the eight-year-old who once roamed Chipadze Market peddling jars of homemade spread after school.
“I had to mature early after the passing away of my father, who was the breadwinner,” he recalls.
“Life took a sudden turn for the worst; we went to bed virtually on empty tummies on some nights. I watched my mother struggling and the right thing to do was to step up and assist.”
By day, he was a vendor and by afternoon he was a barefoot schoolboy chasing dreams on dusty pitches in his uniform.
He would train until dusk, still sticky with peanut butter, still smiling.
“They used to mock me and at first it infuriated me, but with time, I got used to the tag and it was fun,” Tafa says.
“My mother taught me to ignore the insults and focus on my business, and whenever I saw her counting money at the end of the day, I felt satisfied.”
That early hustle toughened him up for the unpredictable road ahead.
When his peers gave up on football for odd jobs, Tafa kept showing up, even when there was no kit, no pay and little hope.
His break finally came in 2019 with Mushowani Stars, another Mashonaland Central outfit that briefly lit up the PSL before fading into oblivion.
Relegation hit hard, but Tafa’s hunger only grew.
When Simba Bhora emerged from Division One, Bindura rallied again, and Jita was their soul.
From the first whistle in the 2022 promotion campaign, his leadership and resilience stood out.
He became the constant in a team that changed faces, coaches and fortunes but never lost its backbone.
Playing every minute of every league game since Simba Bhora’s PSL debut in 2023, Tafa recently marked his 100th topflight appearance against Highlanders at Wadzanai Stadium. The moment felt like a homecoming. The club presented him with a framed jersey, a tribute to a man who has never missed a match, never chased the limelight and never forgotten his roots.
Two yellow cards, no suspensions, two championship medals — one from the Northern Region in 2022 and another from the PSL in 2024 — and a place among the Soccer Stars finalists last season sounds almost poetic for a man who started life selling peanut butter to survive.
“I am speechless with all these achievements. I almost shed tears when I look back at where this journey started,” he says.
“My mother and fans have been there for me from the onset. I am happy that I did not let any of them down. Whenever I step on the pitch, I know that I have my family and fans who have travelled from far just to watch me, and that just fuels my passion.”
It is easy to see why Bindura’s love for Simba Bhora feels personal.
For most residents, supporting the club means celebrating one of their own.
They travel 63 kilometres to Wadzanai to cheer him or 87 kilometres to Harare for away fixtures.
Each trip is a pilgrimage to honour the boy they once bought peanut butter from, now standing tall in the country’s top league.
And while some clubs have circled, eager to lure him away, Tafa stays loyal.
“I feel indebted to the province and the club, and serving them by playing here is my way of repaying their love,” he says. His story captures something rare in modern football: a player defined not by transfers or trophies, but by gratitude.
From the marketplace to the stadium, his journey mirrors the heart of Bindura itself — modest, hardworking and proud.
