Zexie Manatsa, in a glittering career spanning over six decades, put heart and soul into music.
The late icon —a beacon of music excellence, fronted the Green Arrows band for years and his well-crafted melodies hit Zimbabweans so hard, yet they felt no pain.
In 1987, Manatsa went into the studio and produced a banger titled: “Tamirira (Dynamos igowese)” which loosely translates to: ‘we are waiting for Dynamos to score.’
Tamirira was dedicated to Dynamos and matched the glamour associated with the Harare giants back then.
It was a masterpiece which was even used to master peace by past club executives, as it calmed fans down when things appeared to be going wrong, especially during matches at Rufaro.
Dynamos fans would wait, as the song says, and goals would come in abundance.
Sadly, what comes in abundance for those in the blue half of Harare nowadays, and what they wait for one after the other, are stories which remind them of how chaotic the country’s most popular club has become.
Ahead of last Sunday’s league match against old foes Highlanders at Rufaro, Dynamos players boycotted training for four days citing outstanding signing-on fees and winning bonuses.
DeMbare lost the game 0-2 and their coach Genesis Mangombe, who has overseen only 5 wins in 18 matches in the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League, conveniently blamed the defeat on the players’ strike.
“Some of the problems we have are beyond our control (as coaches). Like, we want to win yet we don’t train, if we don’t train then we are bound to lose the game. We have to train, then if there are certain issues, then they are addressed after training,” Mangombe told journalists after the game.
While Dynamos fans were still recovering from the painful completion of a double on them by Bosso, a bombshell came.
The DeMbare leadership reportedly spent US$1000 on a sangoma ahead of the Highlanders match, at a time when players were demanding their dues.
The allegations though, were vehemently denied by Moses Maunganidze-led executive.
“The club believes that football is scientific and as such all our energy is directed towards the application of scientific methods,” Dynamos said in a statement.
“The engagement of a sangoma, if any, was never done by the club as such practices would violate the varied spiritual beliefs held by our players.
“The club is alive to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which provides for freedom of conscience which includes freedom of thought, opinion, religion or belief. Therefore the club can not impose or violate the rights of its players by engaging a sangoma.”
The statement issued by DeMbare, professing ignorance over the use of juju, is in sharp contrast with what former captain Memory Mucherahowa said in 2017.
Mucherahowa, who captained DeMbare in the CAF Champions League final in 1998, openly admitted that juju was part and parcel of the Dynamos modus operandi.
“The aim of my book (Soul of Seven Million Dreams) was to be truthful and not offend anyone,” Mucherahowa was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
“Hopefully people will respect the fact that I’ve been very honest. There are so many things happening in African football which people don’t know about so I decided to share my experiences with the fans.
“I don’t know whether it [juju] works but when I was doing it, it was because it was part of the package of playing football,” added Mucherahowa.
Amid the drama, critics felt the Dynamos executive wasted a glorious opportunity to keep quiet on the juju allegations, as their former team manager Richard ‘Nyoka’ Chihoro, was suspended by the PSL over ‘black magic’ antics last year.
When sought for a comment on the aftermath of the players’ strike and subsequent loss to Bosso, as well as allegations of hiring a sangoma, Mucherahowa was quick to label Dynamos as ‘laughing stock of Zimbabwean football nowadays.’
“What’s happening at Dynamos now is a cause for concern. Everywhere we go, everyone knows we are part of the history of the club and people laugh at us. Dynamos is now the laughing stock of Zimbabwean football,” Mucherahowa told Soccer24 from his base in Slough, United Kingdom.
The former Zimbabwe international blamed the current state of the club on board chairman Bernard Marriot-Lusengo.
“The Dynamos problem has a name —Bernard Marriot. There are of course other factors like our game nosediving along with the county’s economy but Marriot remains the biggest problem at Dynamos,” reckons Mucherahowa.
Mucherahowa defended the Dynamos players for refusing to train when they are owed money, saying there is no such thing as being loyal to the badge when one’s stomach is empty.
“You cannot blame a player for striking. The club’s leadership prioritized a sangoma who came for one day, at the expense of players who train everyday and that is totally unacceptable,” he said.
The Mufakose-bred former midfielder insists the sangoma story is true even if Dynamos try to deny it. His argument is based on Marriot’s supposed reputation.
“People like Sunday Chidzambwa know how Marriot operates, so does a lot of former players at Dynamos. Marriot loves issues to do with black magic. I’m not even surprised that in this case, a sangoma was paid that much money when players were striking,” said Mucherahowa.
Mucheroahowa admitted that Dynamos is now a pale shadow of its former self.
“Dynamos is now and mockery and I can barely recognize it. I struggle to believe this is the team which reached the final of the CAF Champions League,” he said.
That Dynamos continue to be referred to as ‘The Glamour Boys’ is truly a figment of imagination.