Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
MBARE is not just Harare’s oldest suburb; it is a contradictory world of brilliance and self-destruction.
It is a place where champions are born, but also where dreams go to die. The same streets that gave us sporting greats have, just as often, devoured their potential.
In Mbare, raw talent collides with brutal reality.
From champion boxers to national football stars, the high-density suburb has birthed legends, but just as quickly, it has broken them.
Amid the crumbling flats and chaotic streets, dreams rise and fall in equal measure. Mbare is where brilliance and tragedy walk side by side.
It is a community of contrasts.
You will find hardened criminals, commercial sex workers, drug addicts, artistes, politicians and some of Zimbabwe’s finest athletes.
Dynamos Football Club, arguably the country’s most iconic team, calls Mbare home.
In sport, Mbare is a living paradox. It produces as many talents as it consumes. Take Mushongandebvu Walk, near Ardbennie Road. That short stretch has seen legends rise and fall.
It is where former Commonwealth flyweight boxing champion Zvenyika “Mosquito” Arifonso grew up and where Dynamos great Chamunoda Musanhu was raised. The Katsvere brothers, Eddie and Lloyd, both Dynamos stalwarts, also stayed in this area, along with the Mushangazhike brothers, Gilbert and Kelvin, who played endless street football on that very street.
But those same streets have seen their share of heartbreak. Zvenyika knows this better than most.
“Growing up in Mbare was not easy,” he said.
“At the age of six, I was already into a life of crime.”
His voice is steady, but the pain is clear. Raised by a struggling single mother after his father walked out, he gravitated towards older boys, who taught him the ways of the street.
“I committed crimes, from housebreaking to theft, and I would bring everything I stole back home to help my mother,” he said. “Later, I started fighting on the streets to earn money.”
What began as means of survival turned into a boxing career. At just 17, Zvenyika went pro. In 1998, he captured the Commonwealth title. Then came the fall.
“Without proper guidance, everything I earned went to waste,” he admitted. “I spent recklessly on alcohol and women. The community that once celebrated me watched as I lost it all. Today, I have nothing to show for my hard work.”
Zvenyika’s voice hardens when he talks about the education he never got. His mother tried to send him to school once, but he dropped out after just a few days. Now, with nothing left but regrets, he runs a small boxing academy in Mbare.
“My wish is to help youngsters not to fall into the same trap I did,” he said. “I don’t want to let them down like I feel the community let me down.”
The story of Nyasha Chazika, a former Dynamos and Supersport United right-back, mirrors Zvenyika’s journey.
At just 12, Chazika was a rising star in the Dynamos junior ranks. A scholarship took him to Churchill School. Soon after, he made it to the senior team, then moved to South Africa’s Supersport United. He even earned national team call-ups. But with success came temptation.
“I was caught up in nightlife and women,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “That’s my biggest regret. If I could turn back time, I’d do things differently.”
Chazika fell into a toxic cycle — partying, reckless spending and drug use. In Mbare, this behaviour was not condemned. It was admired. Then, suddenly, it all crumbled.
A mysterious injury ended his stint in South Africa. Back home, the injury vanished as suddenly as it came, but the chance to return had slipped away. He feared going back. He briefly revived his career at Dynamos, then at Buymore and CAPS United, but he could not manage his finances. He lost his home, struggled with substance abuse, and eventually saw his marriage collapse.
The fans who once idolised him turned away. His playing career ended, and he found himself back in Mbare, starting all over again.
Recently, he caught a break and moved overseas, where he is rebuilding his life quietly and cautiously.
Proud “Kilimanjaro” Chinembiri, a former African heavyweight boxing champion, also hailed from Mbare.
His life story — marked by poverty, street violence, squandered potential and myth — ended in tragedy.
Kilimanjaro was another talent consumed by the very place that raised him. The experiences of Chazika, Chinembiri and Zvenyika serve as cautionary tales for today’s young athletes, like CAPS United’s Tendai Matindife, who is clawing his way back from a slump two seasons ago.
Keith Murera, once with Ngezi Platinum Stars and Dynamos, also found himself derailed by the Mbare streets. He is now fighting for a second chance.
Simba Bhora’s Emmanuel Ziocha has learned from these stories.
A former dancer with Soul Jah Love’s Conquering Family Band, Ziocha swapped the stage for the pitch. Now, he is winning over fans at Shamva’s Wadzanai Stadium.
“Growing up in Mbare meant learning about life very young. By the age of five or six, I had already seen a lot,” said Ziocha.
“But my parents always emphasised discipline and education. That helped me stay focused.”
Ziocha spent his childhood around older boys caught in drugs and alcohol. But he steered clear.
“I’m glad I never got into drugs. Football rescued me. And the lessons from the streets now help me navigate pressure,” he said.
Still, not all talented sportspersons from Mbare fell by the wayside. Some found a way out, and stayed out.
Former Warriors striker Edward Sadomba, a former Al Hilal of Sudan star, is thriving in Borrowdale. His sons, El Shaddai and Adonai, are promising footballers at St John’s High School.
The Musanhu brothers, Walter and Chamunoda, remain involved in football. Walter now has strong ties in China. Hope Chihota, another former Dynamos forward, is now based in the United States.
There is also Melissa Majonga, an international basketball player for Sweden’s Kalmar women’s team. She is not just an athlete, but a trained sports scientist and coach, with a degree from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).
The late football legend, George Shaya, also hailed from Mbare, as did rugby talent Victor Pekani.
The Mighty Warriors’ Rudo Neshamba, Rufaro Machingura, Talent Makoto and Bridget Chandamale Musekiwa are all Mbare products.
It is this mix of pain and pride that defines Mbare. This is a suburb full of stories that inspire and warn, a place where dreams are possible, but not guaranteed.
In Mbare, the game never ends. The rules just keep changing.
