Has Mukamba turned the corner?

Charles Mabika

Special Correspondent

HAS Denver Mukamba turned the corner?

This is the question doing most rounds whenever the Dynamos fans are discussing the cornerstone of their team’s 2023 football season’s campaign.

Mukamba, who rejoined the Glamour Boys for the second time just before the season kicked off from Ngezi Platinum, is slowly inching his way back into the limelight and is being used as a second-half substitute by his team’s technical staff since the season’s start and even during the team’s pre-season warm-up encounters.

After many pundits, including his own fans, questioned his apparent “on-off” disciplinary behaviour after a short-lived return from the South African Super Diski which was chequered with brief stints at DeMbare, Chapungu and Ngezi Platinum, the skilful and attacking midfielder vowed that his bad days were over for good and he would work hard to resurrect a career that had the hallmark of a possible dream flourish and eventuality in any European top-flight league a decade ago.

I watched “Mundikumbuke” on Sunday at the National Sports Stadium after he was introduced midway into the second half  in their second league match of the campaign as they hammered debutants Sheashan 4-0.

The scoreline, though, did scant justice for “The Construction Boys” as they impressed the neutrals who were present, especially after the interval, with their methodical build-ups from the back but two horrible mistakes, which resulted in own goals, a perfectly executed penalty kick by man-of-the-match and Dynamos skipper Frank “Tollgate” Makarati and a blistering volley by Ghanaian import Emmanuel Paga sealed the fate of the Gweru-based side. Mukamba, once again the DeMbare crowd’s favourite, received a rousing cheer as he came on and immediately set about dictating the pace of the game for his side in the middle of the park.

There is definitely no doubt that the finesse and flair that saw him being crowned the country’s Soccer Star of the Year in 2012 is still there. The sudden and deceptive turns of pace and guile are still abound in that lanky frame and the scent of blistering finishes can still be smelt from afar.

Although Dynamos were already 3-0 up by the time his head coach Herbert “Jompano” Maruwa sent him on, the now ginger-haired Mukamba caught the eye with some deft and defence-splitting passes to his forwards, many of which were dealt with by an otherwise impressive Sheasham ‘keeper, Liberty Chirava. When “Mundikumbuke” was in possession, you could see the whole team suddenly erupt into a rhythmic crescendo as he dictated the pace and oh, yes, the showmanship is still there in him, as evidenced by one moment when he was felled by a Shaeasham defender in the centre circle.

As the referee blew for a foul and a free-kick for his team, Mukamba got back to his feet and raised both his arms up and down in a choir master stroke, motioning to the Dynamos fans to forget about his being fouled and keep their voices up for the side!

The feeling that one gets is that the discipline is slowly coming back as Mukamba must have come to realise that time waits for no man no matter how big a star you might be.

But why is Maruwa opting to start the team’s playmaker from the bench?

“We are still working on his fitness levels as we would love him to be at the top in terms of physical strength. He always changes the complexion of the game every time he comes in from the bench so we would obviously want him from the start. However, we don’t want to rush him and when we are comfortable with his fitness levels the fans can expect to see him from the start,” revealed “Jompano”.

“I’m happy with the oneness that the whole squad has fashioned and we are taking one match at a time. I know that our fans are crying for the league title. They have every right to do that and everyone here will work hard to please them, including Denver,” emphasised the team’s gaffer.

That’s why the DeMbare fans are asking the same question: Has Mukamba turned the corner to reshape a glittering career that had seemed to be going off the rails?

So far so good, I think. But it’s all entirely up to him now to keep moving with the tide because time certainly waits for no man.