Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube and Lovemore Dube
LAST Monday, Inyathi in Matabeleland North Province became a gathering place of memory and gratitude. Family, friends, football personalities, and members of the public assembled for the unveiling of the tombstone of the late Ndumiso Gumede, one of Zimbabwe’s most iconic football administrators.
The occasion was both solemn and celebratory. It was not simply about marking his passing on 29 December 2021, but about revisiting the story of a man whose passion for football was only matched by his devotion to faith and community.
For most, Gumede was Highlanders. His life was interwoven with the club, where he served tirelessly and often fiercely, becoming a trusted custodian of its heritage. He worked behind the scenes, mentoring, negotiating, and fighting for the growth of Zimbabwean football. His fingerprints were on decades of the game’s story.
But at the unveiling, another dimension of Gumede surfaced, one that rarely reached beyond his closest circles.
Betty Msimanga of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) shared a side of him few in football ever saw.
“Ndumiso was a great man,” she said. “We worshipped with him at the City Centre.”
She told of a man who attended services in full Bosso regalia, who sometimes slipped out midway if Highlanders were playing at home, but who never missed a Sunday service, whether in Bulawayo, at the Old Mission in Inyathi, or at Inyathi High School. Even at the height of his football responsibilities, his faith came first.
“Ndu would fit in everywhere in church,” Msimanga said with a smile. “Be it Sunday School, he would become Sunday School. With the youth, he would become a youth. Even with the women’s fellowship, (umanyano) he would fit in. That was Gumede for you, an all-rounder. I don’t remember seeing him with a sad face.”
Her words painted him as more than an administrator. He was a storyteller, a joker, someone who carried joy into every space he entered.
“He would just crack a joke to make everyone laugh,” she recalled. “Even as he entered the church, children would turn around and just laugh, because Ndu was always alive. He was not like us who would sometimes come angry. He loved church. He loved God.”
And always, there was Highlanders.
“When Highlanders were playing,” Msimanga added, “he would first come to church. We would then see him leaving during the service with his black bag, saying he didn’t want to be late for the game.”
She also remembered his spirit of service, even when unwell. Once, when the church needed a place to worship, Gumede insisted on accompanying them to see his friend, Zifa vice- president Kennedy Ndebele.
“I thought he was taking us to a ground floor office,” she said. “But it was upstairs. Even though he was in pain and struggling with his legs, he forced himself up the stairs, smiling, joking, making light of it. That was Ndu.”
For those gathered, these stories showed a man whose greatness lay not only in what he did for football, but in how he lived, with laughter, kindness, and a faith that shaped his every step.
“As UCCSA Bulawayo Central, we could talk and talk,” Msimanga concluded. “But we have written a book in our hearts about his greatness.”
Bongani Ndlovu