Mvuzo Mbebe dies

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
THE African Union Sports Council Region 5 secretary-general Mvuzo Mbebe has died. He was 52. Mbebe, who was instrumental in the running of the sixth AUSC Under-20 Youth Games in Bulawayo last December, died on Monday night at the ARWYP Private Hospital in Kempton Park, South Africa, after losing a long battle with colon cancer. He was the chairperson of the regional organising committee of the 2014 Youth Games.

In a condolence message, AUSC Region 5 general manager Stanley Mutoya said Mbebe distinguished himself as a sports administrator par excellence in the world, Africa, the region and in his home country, South Africa where he played critical roles in the successful hosting of the 2010 Fifa Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.

“The region fondly remembers his passionate commitment to nurturing and developing a crop of sports development initiatives. For this, as a region, we will forever salute the legacy he has left us and pledge to carry forward his vision,” said the Botswana-based Mutoya in a statement he released from Cairo, Egypt, yesterday.

“It’s under his watch that the AUSC Region 5 has developed into a vibrant professionally managed outfit that is now able to meaningfully impact the growth of sport in the region and beyond, where the region’s sport development model has been endorsed by the African Union and is being replicated across the African continent.”

Mutoya said Mbebe left behind a tremendous legacy, “one that cannot be erased, underestimated or undermined”. “His footprints are everywhere in the world, South African and African sport, and the challenge now is for us to take up his baton and complete the tasks at hand.

“We salute a hero, a strategist, an icon, a fighter, a general, a volunteer and one that sacrificed his all for the good of his Africa, his region, his country.” Zifa also sent their condolence message following the death of Mbebe, who was the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and Chan organising committee chief executive officer.

“Zifa has learnt with great shock and sorrow of the untimely death of Mvuzo Mbebe, a veteran sports and football supremo, whose immense contribution to the world’s most beautiful game is beyond doubt”, Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela said in a statement. He said the association also took note of the crucial role played by Mbebe in helping Zimbabwe successfully host the AUSC Region 5 Games in Bulawayo last year.

“Mbebe’s contribution to sport was unmatched as he ensured that Zimbabwe successfully hosted the AUSC Region 5 Games in Bulawayo. He symbolised sport’s universal character.” Mbebe is survived by wife Nomalungelo, son Ntsika and daughter Avuziwe. He will be buried in his hometown of Mzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal on a date to be announced.