Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, [email protected]
HIGHLANDERS coach Benjani Mwaruwari has called on his players to dedicate the weekend’s clash with CAPS United to the departed quartet of chairman Kenneth Mhlophe, his deputy Fiso Siziba, board member responsible for finance Nkani Khoza and club member Mbalenhle Sibanda.
The quartet died last week on Thursday evening, 26 hours after watching the club lose to ZPC Kariba at the hydro electricity generating town in Mashonaland West.
The accident happened about 60km out of Bulawayo on the Bulawayo-Gweru Road.
All four died on the spot and have since been buried.
Mhlophe was buried on Tuesday with full military honours at Lady Stanley Cemetery in Bulawayo with Sibanda laid to rest at her family home at Hlatshwayo Area of Insiza District.
Siziba and Khoza were buried a day earlier at Lady Stanley Cemetery hours the quartet’s joint memorial service held at Barbourfields Stadium on Monday morning which drew thousands of people.
“We have to work, what can we do?” said Mwaruwari.
Highlanders travel to Harare for a date with CAPS United at Rufaro on Sunday hopeful of a positive result to stay in the Castle Lager Premiership race.
Mwaruwari said they were working on getting the team to see counsellors.
“I will be meeting the acting chairman this afternoon. I will raise it with him that the boys need to be put in the right psychological mindset ahead of the match. It was not easy, they were with the leadership in Kariba and then boom something like that happens, it is bound to have an effect, as a club we are a family. We need counselling for the boys, we need to do it on Friday before we leave for the weekend match. I will speak to the chairman this afternoon (yesterday).
“We need to manage the situation delicately. We have not trained from Thursday last week because of the tragedy,” said Mwaruwari.
The coach reported a clean bill of health with all players looking forward to selection.
Mwaruwari said he counts himself lucky with manager Zenzo Moyo.
They had a stopover in Kwekwe of about one hour 30 minutes. He said they had been travelling following each other from Kariba.
“Eish it’s tough we could have been part of the pile up but the stopover we had in Kwekwe saved us, we got to the scene after a while. It was very unfortunate to lose our leadership in that manner,” said Mwaruwari.
The bus carrying players left Kariba four hours earlier.
