Zim netball’s oldest player

Veronica Gwaze

FOR many, life begins at 40.

So do fallen arches, faulty eyesight and the tendency to tell a story to the same person twice or thrice.

With wrinkles beginning to nag, many tend to hide in their cocoons.

But for Rainbow Amateur Netball League’s oldest player, Sifelani ‘Mhai’ Nyamazha, it is time to make a lasting impression.

The 42-year-old qualified umpire and coach feels that she can still play for a few more years before taking a bow.

Despite her short stature, she has eyes for the ring.

Her lethal netball antics have won her the moniker ‘Mhai’.

“I have prepared for my life after sport.

“I am a qualified umpire and coach, but it is not yet my time on the bench. I feel that I still have more years to play the game,” she chuckled. The Mutare-born Beta Queens Goal Attacker comes from a family of  netballers.

Rarely does one come across a family of more than 10 members gifted with the same talent.

While Nyamhazha’s father, the late James Mapepa, was a former Dynamos player, her mother Cecilia and Nyamhazha’s five sisters are all gifted netballers.

Her daughter Liona Moyo and niece Joylene Ndlovu are currently students at Pamushana High school on netball scholarships.

Another niece, Everjoy Ndlovu, is employed by the Airforce of Zimbabwe and turns out for Falcon Queens.

“My family members have netball running through their veins. Last year, our family team represented Mutare Railways at the national railways ball games in Harare.

“Mutare had no team and we decided as a family to go and play.

“Together with my sisters and nieces, we made up a team. We won the cup and we look forward to defending it,” said Nyamhazha.

The GA’s journey began in 1987 at Mutare’s St Joseph’s Primary School before she proceeded to Sakubva High.

After winning several accolades during her school days, Nyamhazha had to abandon netball soon after school when she got married.

Unfortunately, she divorced four years later. As fate would have it, she found herself back on the court.

In 2000, Nyamhazha joined Founders Netball club, where she was made captain during the season she spent there.

She then moved to Sakubva Stars.

Steadily making her name under Sakubva Stars, she was identified by Mutare                  Prison.

She joined the club with the hope of getting employed under the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services.

Later, her sibling Ednah also joined the club. For seven years, the duo made waves with Mutare Prison.

However, Nyamhazha lost hope of being recruited by ZPCS and left.

However after her departure, the ZPCS later recruited Ednah. She currently plays for Correctional Queens.

“In 2008, I lost hope and moved to Grain Marketing Board, where I worked and played for their team until 2011.”

Nyamhazha then moved to Mutare Polytechnic, then to Beta Queens.

In 2014, Glow Petroleum employed her as a fuel attendant. She joined the company’s team and played for them until 2017.

The following year, she briefly moved back to Mutare City netball club, before winning her way back into her current home, Beta Queens.

In her more than two-decades netball journey, Nyamhazha somewhat managed to remain injury-free.

“I have no injuries, neither have my siblings sustained any during their careers.

“We all survive on netball, our children are in boarding schools on netball scholarships, while others got employed through the game. ln fact, netball is our life,” she said.

With the sisters playing under rival teams, they echoed the same sentiment on how they relate to each other during games.

“When we step on the court, it’s a money game. We are all rivals gunning for the                       cup. We become sisters when the final whistle blows.”

At home, the family usually talks about netball.

They are all Ednah’s fans and it is their wish to see the Correctional Queens star feature in national team colours.