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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS fan Maxwell Machisi buries his face in his hands, struggling to contain emotions, while vividly narrating the last moments he used his legs.
Wheelchair-bound at a rented house in Mt Hampden, Machisi’s voice becomes faint, and something seems to be choking him, as he continues with his spine-chilling account of the incident which left him in his current state.
He is one of the 16 Glamour Boys fans who survived an accident that killed nine of their colleagues.
They were on their way to Gweru for a league match against Chapungu four years ago.
“Sometimes, I look at my four children and definitely notice that they need something, but they can’t tell me,” he says.
“On the rare occasions that they come and try to comfort me, I look the other way and shed tears.
“This is a permanent injury I suffered and I cannot even help myself. You know what, in the morning of that fateful day on 11 June 2016, everything seemed fine and I was in high spirits.”
That was the last time his family saw him walking. For Machisi and Vitar Chirunga, a colleague who had travelled all the way from South Africa that same week to cheer the Glamour Boys, life has been unbearable for the past four years. Among the 16 fans who survived that horrific kombi crash, only the pair suffered permanent injuries.
Today marks exactly four years after that dark cloud enveloped the Glamour Boys.
A commuter omnibus they were travelling in burst its rear left tyre before rolling several times, just before Kwekwe, on their way to Gweru for a league match against Chapungu.
While the Dynamos supporters have commemorated each anniversary of the death of the nine fans, by buying goodies for their families, nothing has gone towards the upkeep of the survivors like Machisi and Chirunga.
Chirunga, who walks with the aid of crutches, was close to tears yesterday.
The 50-year old, who lives at his parents’ house in Crowbrough together with his family, said he would have been walking, without aid, had his savings not dried up before completing his physiotherapy.
“I was based in Free State, South Africa, where I was working at a hotel. For the love of Dynamos, I would travel back to Zimbabwe just to watch the boys in action, at least once every month,” said Chirunga.
“Little did I know; fate was waiting to change all that in the blink of an eye.
“The kombi was overloaded and the supporters were singing when the rear tyre burst. The driver panicked and pandemonium reigned.
“I broke my leg and had injuries all over. I would have been walking had I managed to complete my physiotherapy sessions.
“Fellow supporters managed to pool some resources when I was in hospital and I thank them for that, but I wasn’t able to fully pay the bills. I was reduced to a beggar, so to speak. Sometimes I wish, I had died and my children would have known I am dead rather than being alive and not being able to do anything to help them.”
Dynamos Supporters Association (Harare Chapter), secretary-general, Shungu Kamukapa, said supporters countrywide have pledged to help them.
“Like what we have been doing all along, we are pooling resources together and we will buy food hampers which will be presented to the families of the deceased fans at a date to be advised,” said Kamukapa.
“We had planned a big tournament to raise funds for the families of the deceased. The fans had children who are still going to school, and need assistance towards their education.
“We have some members who survived the crash, but are living with permanent disability and are finding it difficult to fend for their families.”
Meanwhile, six CAPS United players who did not take part in the industrial action which rocked the Green Machine on Tuesday, have had their outstanding salaries paid.
The players who received their salaries ate Method Mwanjali, Valentine Musarurwa, Ian Nyoni, Enock Karembo, Brendon Mpofu and Newman Sianchali.
It was not clear last night as to why the Green Machine officials decided to take this route to try and resolve the challenges rocking their camp.
Online Reporter