The Sunday Mail
Makomborero Mutimukulu Sports Editor
SEVEN days into 2017 the Warriors pulled out an abominable act.
They snubbed an Africa Cup of Nations dinner that had then Acting President Emmerson Mnangangwa as the guest of honour.
The players were protesting against the nonpayment of their allowances ahead of the tourney in Gabon, where they went on an equally disgraceful show.
We agree the lads had genuine grievances.
However, the way they chose to communicate was not the most ingenious.
In a bid to drive their point home the players, led by skipper Willard Katsande and his deputy Cuthbert Malajila, not only embarrassed Cde Mnangangwa.
They embarrassed Zifa and the whole nation.
On these sports pages we were unforgiving in our lashing of these boys.
We called them mercenaries when others chose to major on the minor.
That is us; we don’t draw comfort from numbers.
Predictably the brickbats came our way with some critics accusing us of being blind to the fact that the players have families and cannot work for free.
It’s worth noting that we never advocated for slavery at the Warriors. We just highlighted that the boys had behaved like mercenaries – snubbing the highest office in the land over monetary grievances.
If it happened again we would still call the Warriors mercenaries. We are alive to our duty, as the widely read national newspaper, to follow the flag at all times.
That knowledge is the reason why you see us behaving like paid up Caps United supporters when Makepekepe are taking part in the Caf Champions League. We will do so even when Dynamos, FC Platinum or even Walter Magaya’s Yadah go out there representing this nation of ours.
That need to follow the flag was the guiding principle when we took on Wicknell Chivayo in a battle that probably confirmed us as a serious, non-bootlicking, sports desk.
Phillip Chiyangwa, the Zifa president, has issues with some of the stick we have given him since he came into office on December 5, 2015.
Getting him to agree to an interview with us is always some task. Yet he is a guy who craves publicity!
“Makomborero I don’t trust you. Unongondirova, even Omega Sibanda akuchema newe. That column of yours by Sir is unforgiving,” the Zifa boss said as I entered his offices on Thursday.
Chiyangwa has given us both the good and the ugly during his reign but the guy – for all his flaws – has also made some right calls.
One such call is the move to ensure that the players who led the January 7 mutiny at the Harare International Conference Centre are not considered for national duty.
Like Chiyangwa notes in our lead story “snubbing the highest office in the land comes with consequences.” It’s time to pay the price.
Playing for the Warriors is national duty, a sacred mandate that must be respected at all times by those fortunate enough to be chosen to wear the national colours.
With Norman Mapeza in charge of the squad – albeit in an interim basis – we have no doubt that indiscipline will have no room in the national team camp.
Team manager Wellington Mpandare also has a history of being a stickler for discipline.
The Afcon send off dinner debacle also brought to the fore the true leaders of the team.
Costa Nhamoinesu and Knowledge Musona were the voices of reason.
They argued that by snubbing the Acting President the Warriors were missing a perfect opportunity to present their grievances to a man who held all the aces.
While it is not our mandate to dictate who should take over the armband from Katsande we believe Nhamoinesu and Musona’s biceps are worth to carry the armband.
