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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
LAST Saturday, Sipepa Business Centre in the Tsholotsho North constituency was a hive of activity as thousands of villagers converged at the Sipepa High School grounds for the Sipepa Sports and Cultural Gala.

The gala started in the morning with traditional dance groups entertaining the crowd before some football and netball games were played.

Tsholotsho North will go to the polls on June 10 in a by-election to elect a new Member of Parliament in which the ruling Zanu-PF would be represented by Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Jonathan Moyo.

Minister Moyo spent the day with the villagers in the company of guest of honour and Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Andrew Langa.

To crown the gala, former Highlanders players, who conquered all and sundry from 1998 to 2002, were invited to once again showcase their skills. The former players left Bulawayo just after 8AM on Saturday for the 170km journey. I joined the team on the memorable journey.

Inside the bus were former team manager Ernest Maphepha Sibanda, former medic Emmet Ndlovu, former head coach Rahman Gumbo and Willard Mashinkila Khumalo.

Among the former players that also made the journey to Sipepa were Gift Lunga Jnr, Simon Sibanda, Alexander Phiri, Zenzo Moyo, Thabani Masawi, Blessing Gumiso and Nkosana Gumbo. Joel Luphahla and Sizabantu Khoza boarded the bus at Tsholotsho centre as they both hail from the area. Guest players, Herbert Dick and Tirivaviri Sithole as well as B-Metro editor Limukani Ncube were also among the passengers.

It felt really good to be among these legends, particularly when they went down memory lane as they spoke about their old escapades, and there cannot be a better orator than Rahman.

He spoke right from Bulawayo to Sipepa.

A number of interesting stories were told; one being when Rahman and the late Mercedes “Rambo” Sibanda were chucked off a plane after humiliating the pilot.

He said this happened after a cup victory in Harare where they were given huge amounts of money. As a result, he said they drank alcohol on their way to the airport.

“When we got there we continued drinking. Willard was now with us and when an announcement was made that all passengers should now check in and board, we ignored but Willard heeded the call and left us. All the passengers boarded and the flight crew had the patience of waiting for us,” said Gumbo.

He said when they got onto the tarmac; they headed for the cockpit and started pointing fingers at the pilot.

“We got in somehow, looked for seats, but moments later, security details came in at lightning speed and we were quickly bundled out of the plane like luggage,” narrated Gumbo.

He said they only travelled to Bulawayo the following morning.

Rambo seemed to have been quite a character as in one of his many misdemeanours, he and the late Cleopas Dlodlo decided to go a gear up by emptying a whole bottle of ‘hot stuff’ in a Mazoe container to hoodwink the coaches it was water.

“They took their ‘drink’ and put it in the fridge. At night while we were all watching television, Rambo sent Dlodlo to get their ‘cold water’ in the fridge. They would each get sips before returning the container to the fridge,” said Rahman.

He said they began suspecting something funny when the duo started speaking at the top of their voices but could not explain their sudden excitement.

“We were going to Mhangura the following morning. Those guys continued drinking their ‘water’ late into the night and in the morning when we got into the bus, it was very clear that they were not sharing a bottle of water. They slept all the way but the worst was yet to come.”

He said when the match kicked off, Rambo could barely run and within a few minutes Bosso were down 0-2, with both goals coming from the right flank where the former powerful, right back operated from. He was taken off after 20 minutes and Bosso went on to force a 3-3 draw against the now defunct Mhangura.

We were also told that Maphepha kicked out Zenzo Moyo from camp telling him no one was bigger than the system.

“I was shocked at night when Maphepha drove to Zenzo’s house in Makokoba to plead with him,” said Gumbo.

Zenzo concurred and said he was equally shocked when he saw Maphepha parking at his Makokoba flat.

Next in the firing line was Sizabantu who “forgot” his soccer boots at “Hotel California” (Luveve house) and only revealed it when the team was about to do their warm up.

So livid was Maphepha that he almost pounded the pint-sized Khoza with fists.

What became apparent during our journey was that Rahman was very close to his players to an extent that they were even prepared to go an extra mile on the pitch to fight for him.

When Gumbo was eventually relieved of his duties after a 1-2 loss to Buffaloes, some players like Gumiso openly wept.

They had developed a telepathic relationship with the coach. Rahman also spoke of his first days as a Highlanders coach under Madinda Ndlovu where the likes of Rambo would not believe that they were now being coached by him.

“The scary part was when we were picking our first 11 for the weekend game. Rambo’s form was no longer the same but he would not have it. When the team was being picked he would look at me and say ‘Rah, nguwe osungenza so mngane wami’, even though I was not the head coach. At one time he showed me a fist,” he said.

We also heard how Khumalo ordered some macaroni and mayonnaise at a Mauritanian hotel just to try and copy his friend Bruce Grobbelaar.

“I suspect he had no idea of the quantity of the food because he complained of hunger the whole night,” said Rahman laughing.

The bus eventually arrived at Sipepa centre with Gumbo still going down memory lane and churning out his jokes. The entire business centre came to a halt as whistling and ululating fans mobbed the Bosso stars of yesteryear. From then onwards, the mood was just festive.