Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube
THEY say football is just a game, but for Zimbabwe Saints legend Gibson Homela, one magical match in Uganda turned him into a full-blown muti believer.
At his 79th birthday bash held on Sunday, former Zifa chairman Vincent Pamire had guests rolling in laughter with a wild tale from 1987 when Chikwata played in the Cecafa Club Championships.
Pamire, who was Saints vice-chair at the time, recalled how the Bulawayo giants faced a tough Ugandan side with none other than President Yoweri Museveni watching from the stands.
“All signs pointed to a Ugandan win,” said Pamire.
“We were losing. Gibson was still clutching the muti, not sure what he did with it in the end. But bam, George Ayibu scores in the dying seconds and we snatch it!”
And just like that, belief was born.
“That goal changed everything,” Pamire said. “We were even invited to a State dinner by Museveni, but we skipped it. Gibson started believing in juju from that day!”
Zimbabwe Saints went on to finish third in the tournament, but it was the last-minute miracle that stole the show and sparked a spiritual awakening in one of the country’s football icons.
Homela, a no-nonsense tactician known for his football brain, never used to give muti a second thought. But that single moment? Pure witchcraft, he reckoned.
And Pamire was not done throwing shade on the craziness of the beautiful game.
“Footballers are not normal,” he joked. “My daughter didn’t get married for a long time. When she finally did, it was to a footballer. I didn’t like it. I’m a football man myself, but now they’re happy.”
He also shared how losing in Hwange once left the entire team in stunned silence.
“We didn’t say a word to each other till Lupane,” he laughed. “We only broke the silence to ask, ‘Why are we so quiet?’ Football messes with your head.”
Now, that is one way to blow out 79 candles, with laughter, juju flashbacks, and a reminder that in football, even the most rational minds can bow to the unexplainable.
