THE ONE THEY LOST

Bruce Chikuni

HE was the one they lost along the way.

Barnabas Mushunjue, the midfielder who was at the heart of Simba Bhora’s finest moments, before his death in a car crash.

His widow, Nonsikelelo Muzengeza, says the club boosted her healing process.

Mushunje died while returning to the club’s base in Shamva in June.

Simba Bhora president, Simba Ndoro, then assured the grieving Muzengeza that he was going to look after the two children Mushunje left behind.

Muzengeza said Ndoro was a man of his word.

“I don’t have much to say about the help I have been getting from the Ndoro family,” said Muzengeza.

“I have been getting Mushunje’s bonuses and salaries, from the time he passed away, up to this day.

“When they made that promise, for a moment, I thought they were just trying to comfort me with lies.

“But, I have realised that we have many good people in this world and I don’t know how to thank them for staying true to their promise.”

At Mushunje’s burial, Ndoro said should Simba Bhora win the ZIFA Northern Region Division One league title, he was going to give Muzengeza capital to start a business.

Simba Bhora lifted the championship last month, and Ndoro is working on fulfilling his promise.

“I was really saddened by the death of Mushunje.

“My wish was to celebrate with him after winning the championship, but we can’t go against the will of God.

“Now that we have won (the championship), I’m going to give his wife capital to start her own business,” said Ndoro.

He added:

“Mushunje had told me that signing him was the greatest decision I had ever made in my life.

“And, after watching him playing for Simba Bhora, people started to applaud our move to get him on board.

“He was a game changer and in the short period that he played, his contribution was immense.”

Mushunje had scored six goals for Simba Bhora at the time of his passing.

Four of his goals were from free-kicks.

After his death, Simba Bhora failed to score from a free-kick.

Despite his death, Mushunje is still a contender for the Axis Solutions Super8 Cup Player of the Tournament after winning two Man-of-the-Match awards.