Online Reporter
Fungai Muderere recently in Filabusi, [email protected]
FOUR Highlanders supporters who were among six Bosso fans killed in a horrific road accident were buried in Filabusi on Saturday amid scenes of deep grief, as the gold-rich community bid farewell to its sons and daughter.
Fanuel Murindi, Fortune Dube, Emmanuel Chirwa and Zaina Sibanda were laid to rest during a joint funeral service attended by grieving relatives, friends, fellow villagers and members of the Highlanders family.
The mood in Filabusi was sombre, with mourners struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss of the four supporters whose lives were cut short while returning home after watching their beloved Highlanders play Herentals at Barbourfields Stadium.
Across the mining community, grief was etched on the faces of mourners.
For a community accustomed to sharing both its triumphs and hardships, Saturday marked one of its darkest days, as Highlanders’ iconic black-and-white colours became symbols of sorrow, mourning and disbelief.
The four supporters were no longer returning from a football match. They were making their final journey home.
For Filabusi resident Mthokozisi Moyo, the tragedy remained difficult to comprehend.
“This is a very painful day for Filabusi. These people left home to go and watch the team they loved, expecting to return and talk about the match, but today (Saturday) we are gathered here to bury them. It is difficult to accept. Our hearts are broken.”
Another Filabusi resident, Brighton Sibanda, said the community had lost individuals who were deeply connected to both the area and Highlanders.
“We have lost people who were part of our community and part of the Highlanders family. What hurts most is that they were simply following their passion for football. They went to support Bosso and never made it back home. Filabusi will never forget them.”
For Hazel Dube, the sight of the coffins brought home the full magnitude of the tragedy.
“There are no words that can properly describe the pain we are feeling today. Seeing these coffins here is heartbreaking. We pray that God gives the families strength because losing someone this way is something no family should have to experience.”
The four were among six Highlanders supporters who died in the accident on August 23, about 15 kilometres from Amazon Shopping Centre along the Filabusi Road.
The tragedy occurred when the Nissan NV350 kombi carrying the supporters rammed into a stationary tipper truck before a Honda Fit subsequently collided with the wreckage.
Four other people survived the accident and were rushed to hospital for treatment.
Busani Moyo, another of the six victims, was buried last Thursday at Luveve Cemetery in Bulawayo following a church service at Doves Funeral Services.
Funeral arrangements for Christina Zikhali, the sixth victim, are yet to be announced.
The six supporters were accorded State-assisted funerals, with Highlanders expressing gratitude to President Mnangagwa and Government for supporting the bereaved families.
“Highlanders Football Club wishes to express its profound gratitude to His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, and the Government of Zimbabwe for granting State-Assisted Funerals to our six beloved supporters,” the club said.
The tragedy has added another painful chapter to what has already been a sombre Highlanders centenary year.
What should have been a period of celebration, pride and reflection on 100 years of one of Zimbabwe’s most successful football clubs has instead been repeatedly overshadowed by tragedy.
In July, Highlanders lost three members of its executive leadership, retired Colonel Kenneth Mhlophe, vice-chairman Sifiso Siziba and executive treasurer Nkani Khoza, in another devastating road accident.
The successive losses have left the Bosso family mourning at a time when it should have been celebrating a remarkable milestone.
Yet amid the sorrow, there is a growing call for the club and its supporters to begin the difficult journey towards healing.
The centenary year cannot be allowed to be remembered solely for coffins, tears and funerals.
The lives of those who have been lost must be celebrated alongside their contribution to the club and the communities they called home.
In Filabusi on Saturday, the pain was overwhelming.
Yet amid the tears was also a powerful reminder of what Highlanders means to its people, a club capable of uniting communities in moments of joy and, painfully, in times of grief.
The black-and-white colours were everywhere, but there were no songs of celebration.
Only tears. Only embraces. Only prayers.
And the painful realisation that four supporters who had travelled to watch their beloved Bosso would never again make that journey home.
For the Highlanders family, however, mourning cannot be the final chapter of its centenary year.
The club must draw strength from its people, honour those it has lost and gradually revive the celebrations that have been eclipsed by tragedy.
Now the healing must begin.
Not by forgetting those who died, but by celebrating the lives they lived, the people they touched and the unwavering love they carried for the black-and-white colours. — @FungaiMuderere
