Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
EVANS GWEKWERERE remains one of the few little known players to have arrived at Dynamos and make a huge impact in their debut season.
In a term when the Glamour Boys were reeling from the effects of a mass exodus and in desperate need of a saviour, they found it in Gwekwerere.
He was so good the DeMbare faithful even composed a jiti song in his name. Because of his immediate impact, he barely lasted for just half-a-season before joining the great trek to South Africa.
That was back in 2006.
While most people were trying to figure out how the forward could easily fit in and even steal the limelight at the country’s biggest team, one man, Lloyd “Mablanyo” Chigowe, had long predicted it.
It is Chigowe who gave Gwekwerere his debut in the Northern Region Soccer League when the striker was only 16 during his days at Douglas Warriors.
The latter had travelled to Banket United when Chigowe decided to throw the teenager into the fray.
“He was very good; he had the confidence and the stamina,” recalls Chigowe.
“He garnered a lot of experience at Douglas Warriors as we always threw him into the deep end.
“When he arrived at Dynamos, I already knew that he would be a phenomenon, which he then became.”
Fast forward to 2025, and Gwekwerere’s son, Ephraim, has arrived at Dynamos at a time when the team is trying to patch up holes created by a mass exodus.
Chigowe is in charge of the Glamour Boys, and he is the one to give Ephraim his Premiership debut.
Ephraim was born in the same year Gwekwerere was making waves at Dynamos and has a chance to give the whole script all the aesthetics it deserves.
Yet the 18-year-old only arrived from Herentals U-20 in the Northern Region Soccer League two weeks ago and decided to go about his trials without bothering to tell Chigowe that he was Gwekwerere’s son.
“Ephraim never tried to canvas for a place on the team. We called for trials, and he was part of the young boys going about the business. But it was very easy to identify his talent,” said Chigowe.
“We just decided to recruit him amongst those who we considered to have shown some potential.
“We then started to work with him, but he was just too good to ignore. When we then decided to engage him, that’s when we learnt that he was with Herentals U-20, and he is actually Evans Gwekwerere’s son. Otherwise, he got his place on merit.
“There is a lot about him that reminds me of Evans. He is very confident and has an eye for goal. I am very positive that he will deliver.
“He is a goal-getter, and his work ethic is up to scratch. I am quite sure he will be a massive part of the team when the season commences.”
Ephraim was unveiled by the Glamour Boys yesterday, and he is expected to become a huge part of the team’s strike force, which already has Elton Chikona, Alexander Mandinyenya, and Frank Agyemang.
A Nigerian striker arrived for assessment on Wednesday and attended yesterday’s training session, while two more foreigners, one from Tanzania and the other from Ghana, were expected to arrive yesterday for a two-week-long audition.
