Zimbabwe's president just greenlit state funerals for three football club bigwigs who never made it home from a road trip gone horribly wrong. Emmerson Mnangagwa put out a statement mourning Highlanders FC chairman Colonel Kenneth Mhlophe, vice-chair Sifiso Siziba, and treasurer Nkani Khoza, all lost after their vehicle hit a cow on the Harare-Bulawayo Road near Mbembesi, a crash that also killed a young fan.
Chief Secretary Martin Rushwaya put the statement out on behalf of the president, and the language gets pretty heavy. Mnangagwa calls Highlanders way more than a club, more like a piece of the nation's identity and pride wrapped into one institution.
He's framing these three guys as lifelong servants of Zimbabwean football, guys who poured everything into Bosso and the sport itself. Losing three of them in a single moment hits different, according to the statement, since it's being treated as a national loss rather than just a club tragedy.
On behalf of the government and the ruling party, condolences went out to the families, the club, and basically anyone who follows the sport. State-assisted funerals are now locked in for all three, and Mnangagwa closed things out with prayers for peace for the departed and strength for everyone left grieving.
Chief Secretary Martin Rushwaya put the statement out on behalf of the president, and the language gets pretty heavy. Mnangagwa calls Highlanders way more than a club, more like a piece of the nation's identity and pride wrapped into one institution.
He's framing these three guys as lifelong servants of Zimbabwean football, guys who poured everything into Bosso and the sport itself. Losing three of them in a single moment hits different, according to the statement, since it's being treated as a national loss rather than just a club tragedy.
On behalf of the government and the ruling party, condolences went out to the families, the club, and basically anyone who follows the sport. State-assisted funerals are now locked in for all three, and Mnangagwa closed things out with prayers for peace for the departed and strength for everyone left grieving.
