adminMutasa and insisted yesterday that they were not a cult, which prescribes unorthodox means of worship, who wanted to drag Dynamos into their stable.
His reaction, which followed the story in yesterday’s issue of The Herald that revealed some intimate details of what goes on inside the Glamour Boys’ house, came as Dynamos fans – reacting to a survey on whether
Mutasa has so failed at the club – overwhelmingly threw their support behind the coach.
The results of that survey are published on Page 15 of this newspaper.
But the majority of the fans, in feedback which will be published in tomorrow’s issue of this newspaper, questioned the direction Dynamos was taking, as the club embraced the new religious rituals, which have been introduced by Mutasa.
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The former Dynamos midfield star has enforced changes with the Glamour Boys abandoning their traditional pre-match goalline prayer, which has since been adopted by African champions TP Mazembe of the DRC.
DeMbare now have a pre-match prayer, where they stand as a group facing the east, and they repeat it at the end of the match.
We reported yesterday that Dynamos players are being ordered to strip naked, in their rooms on the eve of their Premiership matches outside the capital, where their bodies are sprayed with holy water.
Yesterday an elder in the Apostolic Faith sect led by Madzibaba Daniel said their church did not prescribe such unorthodox means of worship and such practices were not consistent with the teachings of their religion.
He said while he wasn’t aware of what happens at Dynamos’ camping sessions, he was certain that any devoted disciple of the apostolic sect led by Madzibaba Daniel, like Mutasa, would not endorse such unorthodox means.
“We worship in broad daylight and our sessions include women so there is no room for naked sessions where people are asked to strip so that we can pray for them,” he said.
“On Thursdays, when we go (to) Masowe, it’s all about worshipping and I have been in the church for a long time now and I have never seen people being asked to strip so that we can pray for them.
“It’s just unfortunate that the good name of the church and its leadership is now being dragged into the mud because of football when, in reality, you can see that we are just trying to pray for those who believe to be helped.
“There is need to defend the good name of the church and its leadership because even on radio, (Dr) Zobha goes about saying all sorts of bad things about Madzibaba Daniel simply because he is praying for those who want to be helped.
“There was always concern in the church that, given the controversial nature of football in this country, trying to pray for the coaches and the players would attract all sorts of bad publicity and we can see now that those concerns were not misplaced.
“All I am calling for is that let’s respect the church and its leadership.”
He said Mutasa was told by the church’s leadership that they would pray for him to do well in his coaching career and it would be even better if they prayed with, and for, the players he would be guiding.
But he rejected any suggestions that Mutasa was being forced to drag the entire Dynamos team into their church sessions or to convert them into believers of their Apostolic Faith sect.
“Lloyd was told that the players can only be helped if they willingly come for prayers and noone has ever been forced to come to us,” he said.
“The spirit told Lloyd that he was going to experience some problems at Dynamos because there were two people, who were in the team’s coaching set-up, who did not believe in spiritual guidance and were interested in other means.
“It’s all coming true now and that explains the battle for a good run because in pre-season, when there was nothing about going to n’angas, the team was doing very well with spiritual guidance and everything changed when the competitive games started.
“You need a united house to succeed and not a set-up where others are praying and others are going to n’angas.”
He revealed that Dynamos team manager Richard Chihoro was advised, when he came to one prayer session, that the club had the capacity of succeeding but that could only come true if they were taking good care of the players by paying them well and in good time.
“Is that what is happening? Are the players being paid at the right time?”
He also said Cuthbert Malajila was advised to cut off his dreadlocks, when he came to pray one day, because the spirit could see that he had a future where he would one day play professional football in a foreign country.
“Cuthbert was still at Dynamos then and he obliged and removed his dreadlocks and we were all happy when his dream came true,” he said.
“Elvis Chiweshe used to come for prayers and there was no controversy like what we are seeing today and I have seen a number of Dynamos players but noone is forcing them to come there.
“They are not the only ones because a lot of players and coaches come and they want spiritual guidance and we provide it.
“It’s all about believing.”
Sports Editor’s Note: Please note that we will carry a comprehensive report on readers’ feedback, related to this issue, in Friday’s edition of The Herald.
Online Reporter