adminGrace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
TENDAI MWARURA, the former Dynamos and Motor Action forward, has traded his boots for a job as a parking marshal in Harare.
The forward is grateful that he is putting food on the table for his family.
He is married to Mabel Dehwe and they have three children with the oldest child now in Form One.
“What I cherish about this job is that you will be working and earning a living and you know that come month end you will get your dues,” said Mwarura.
“I can say I am coping but in future I want to pursue a coaching career by attaining coaching certificates and maybe coach a club one day
“Yes, I am a footballer at heart, and football will remain my life.”
On the bustling streets of Harare, Mwarura has to contend with challenges faced by any parking marshal.
“The challenges I face is that sometimes a motorist is in arrears and doesn’t want to pay up,” he said.
“And then sometimes I meet some soccer fans and they recognise me and want to chat, oblivious of the fact that I am at work.
“People still recognise me. I feel grateful that I once played for a big team like Dynamos. I experienced a lot at that club. It is a team which is loved by many people.
“I still remember a cup final we played against Highlanders.
“A night before the match people came to my house, I was still sleeping, and they began singing songs, it was just inspiring.”
Mwarura’s day starts at 7.30am when he reports to the office before taking his spot for the day at 8am.
His day shift ends at 4pm .
“I am focused on the future, so I have no problems,” he said.
And what about that age cheating scandal which nearly ended his career after it was revealed that he was not a Young Warrior?
“I wanted to go to South Africa and had finished all the paperwork with Jomo Cosmos when this entire storm came up.
“Early in my playing career I had played for a Lower Division side Zimbabwe Crackers but I wasn’t really their official player.
“At that time I once used the birth certificate of my brother Maxwell Mwatii, and retained my name Tendai as the middle name on that licence as we used different surnames with my brother.
“I was just helping the club but it came back to haunt me. It affected my career and I failed to make a move I really wanted.
“My advice to the young players is that whenever they want to sign for a team, even if they are still under age, they shouldn’t hurry and get tied to lengthy contracts and should do everything in the presence of their parents or an agent.”
He says he is happy that he achieved a lot during his playing days.
“I am glad that I achieved a lot of things such as winning medals like the Cosafa Cup.
“I also won a number of trophies and also played in the Confederation Cup with Mwana Africa after we had won the CBZ Cup.
“There are also a lot of unfulfilled promises in terms of contracts and moves I would have made but I am not bitter.
“I hung up my boots in 2010 at Douglas Warriors after I had helped the club gain promotion into the Premiership.
“But I think it was time to move on, as playing football was no longer rewarding. You would move from one club to another, you are promised signing-on fees, you don’t ever get the money,” he said.
Mwarura, who started with Highfield Juniors when he was still at Highfield High 1 before joining Rufaro Rovers, played alongside other international players like Tapuwa Kapini, Tendai Tanyanyiwa and David Sengu.
“At Highfield High 1 my progress was now being monitored and when I joined Rufaro Rovers there were already other players such as Butler Masango and Shingirai Arlon.
“From there I started being called for the Under-17 national team and the Under-20.
“I was the top marksman in my team.”
The striker joined Dynamos in 2003 and played there until 2005 in a strike force that included Agent Sawu and Edmore Mufema before returning briefly for a stint with the Mighty Bulls.
Mwarura then packed his bags and headed to Bulawayo where he joined Railstars and he fondly remembers that season.
“It was quite a good season in Bulawayo experiencing life there.
“I remember this other game we played against Highlanders and we beat them 2-1 and I scored the two goals.
“There was noise after the match and I remember I was nearly signed by Highlanders but in the end it didn’t happen as their offer was not good enough,” he said.
As he guides another car into the bay with the precision with which he used to bang in goals, it is hard to say which emotion rules after meeting Mwarura.
Admiration for his courage to start a fresh career, pain at the thanklessness of a football career or disappointment at the thought of what could have been had this talent been fully realised.
Online Reporter