Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
THE Manicaland Rugby Board will have Casper ‘Belt’ Bandi – its secretary general – as interim chairman, following the departure of Moss Kapumha.
Kapumha was ousted by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), and was barred from participating in the administration of rugby in clubs, schools, and rural communities for two years.
The decision to remove Kapumha stems from his refusal to relinquish his position as a national board member, despite being directed to do so by the country’s sports governing body.
Kapumha obtained the national board position by virtue of being the provincial chairman. At the national level, Godwin ‘Jaws’ Murambiwa, an appointed member of the interim committee and head of the technical aspect of the game, expressed confidence to Post Sport that the new setup will elevate rugby to greater heights.
“I am deeply honoured and privileged to serve on the committee. The impact on Manicaland will be significant, as we anticipate
the province, which is already the fastest-growing rugby province, will supply more players to the provincial setup. This, in turn, will make them eligible for national selection, progressing through the junior pathways, from Zimbabwe Schools to the Zimbabwe Under-20 team and ultimately, the Sables. A major focus will be on developing coaches, which will greatly contribute to the national development of the game, and is an area where the province can truly excel,” said Murambiwa. Murambiwa is a seasoned rugby technical official having started as an assistant rugby coach at Prince Edward High School in Harare.
He has been involved in coaching rugby at all levels in Zimbabwe, and in 2006, he guided the Zimbabwean U-18 team to being crowned Champions of Africa in Morocco.
He also assisted in the lifting of the Confederation of Rugby U-19 African Championship Trophy in 2009, in Nairobi, Kenya, thereby qualifying and attending the Junior World Rugby Trophy in Russia Moscow in 2010.
He is still involved with the Zimbabwe U-18 Craven Week side where he contributes to consistent wins in South Africa.
He has also served on the Zimbabwe Olympic Technical Commission.
The new national interim committee also includes Wellington Magaya, a seasoned lawyer (former president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe) with strong experience in finance, sports, mining, construction and dispute resolution.
Paddy Zhanda is also part of the interim committee.
Zhanda is an experienced investment and business executive with over 20 years of cross-sectoral leadership across agribusiness, manufacturing, housing and infrastructure development, tourism, and private equity investment in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Latifa Kassim, who is also part of the new committee, is a result driven, dynamic and versatile individual with well-rounded experience across all the banking divisions. Her core expertise lies in treasury management, asset and liability management, risk management, stakeholder management and client services.
The other member of that committee is Garette Crabbe who is a dynamic leader with over seven years in technical product strategy, driving 20 percent annual revenue growth at Fuchs Lubricants.
Meanwhile, the SRC announcement that led to Kapumha’s et al exit reads:
“The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) wishes to advise the public and rugby stakeholders that the remaining members of the Zimbabwe Rugby union (ZRU), National Executive Board and the National Executive Committee have been suspended from all forms of rugby administration and activities in Zimbabwe, including, but not limited to holding office under the Zimbabwe Rugby Union.
“The SRC issued a show cause order on the 4th of September 2025, which resulted in the resignation of eight members of the ZRU National Executive Board. No representations were filed by the remaining members of the ZRU National Executive Board, hence the SRC invoked Section 30 of the Sports and Recreation Commission Act.”
