Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, Deputy Sports Editor
THERE will be a joint service tomorrow (Monday) to celebrate and honour the three Highlanders executive members and club supporter who died in a road traffic accident on Thursday evening.
Acting Highlanders chairman Kindman Ndlovu confirmed last night that the service will take place at Barbourfields Stadium.
Highlanders lost chairman Kenneth Mhlophe, his deputy Fiso Siziba, board member finance Nkani Khoza and club member Mbalenhle Sibanda along the Bulawayo-Gweru Road on Thursday when the vehicle they were traveling in from Kariba where the club had played the previous day hit a beast, lost control and collided with an oncoming bus which was headed to Gweru.
All four died on the spot and yesterday morning President Mnangagwa accorded them a State assisted funeral.
“The club engaged the families of our executive members and club member to request that we organise a service to be held at Barbourfields Stadium. They agreed to that, so as we speak there will be one for all at the stadium and the tentative time is 10 am subject though to approval by all concerned parties.
“The families have been sent the draft programme for Monday to approve or make alterations. After that there will be further deliberations with the State and families. There are some people who are supposed to feature on the Monday programme that have to be notified before we come up with the final,” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu announced this after a meeting with members of the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Joint Operations Committee who had been tasked with him to stay behind after the club had met the families yesterday evening.
Yesterday Bulawayo’s Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Judith Ncube announced to the Highlanders board and executive at the team’s offices that President Mnangagwa had accorded the quartet a State assisted funeral.
She described the four’s death as a loss for Bulawayo and Zimbabwe as a whole.
Minister Ncube was accompanied by members of the JOC.
She later visited the families of the four members to pass on President Mnangagwa’s condolences and also announce that the State would assist the families.
Ndlovu said it will be clearer today when and where the executive members and Sibanda will be buried.
The accident is the worst in the club’s history and threw Zimbabwe into grief.
Highlanders are celebrating a century of existence and the major celebration events are yet to be held and the executive trio was due to travel with club board chairman Luke Mnkandla to meet sponsors for a big event this week.
