BULAWAYO – Rival fans gathered at Barbourfields Stadium on Monday for the moving funeral service of three Highlanders club executives and a supporter who perished in a road accident on July 23.
The caskets of club chairman Kenneth Mhlophe, his deputy Fiso Siziba, treasurer Nkani Khoza and supporter Mbalenhle Sibanda were lined up side by side on the Barbourfields turf as hundreds of fans hugged and sang from the stands in a final farewell on the darkest of days for the 100-year-old club.
Speaker after speaker tried to put into words their sense of devastation and loss.
ZIFA president Nqobile Magwizi said Barbourfields was “a place where football memories have been created, where generations have united behind a badge and where football has brought joy to countless Zimbabweans,” but added: “Today, however, this great stadium carries different emotions. It carries the weight of profound loss.”
Highlanders’ first team squad were present, as were players from Chicken Inn, whose presence underscored the sense of a football family in mourning.
Dynamos chairman Vincent Chawonza captured that spirit: “We are not enemies in football. We are one family. It is a beautiful thing to see supporters united like this during such a difficult time.”
The tragedy, coming in Highlanders’ centenary year, shook the government, which accorded the quartet state-assisted funerals.
Premier Soccer League chairman Isaiah Mpfurutsa said: “The centenary celebrations remind us that the history of any successful institution is written by people who dedicate their lives to building and supporting it. These four names have now been woven into the history of this great club.”
Following the service, Khoza and Siziba were laid to rest at Lady Stanley Cemetery. Mhlophe will be buried at the same cemetery on Tuesday, while Sibanda’s burial takes place the same day in Hlatshwayo, Filabusi.
