The Sunday Mail
Alexander Maseko
I HAVE known Gabriel “Gabu” Mvumvure for roughly ten years now, and can trace our first meeting back to my schooling days at Arundel Girls High . I used to do athletics at Arundel High school (2005) and was selected for the provincial team training for the Youth Games here in Zimbabwe.
I remember him running for Churchill and his races were always quite the spectacle.
It was evident even back then that Gabu was an exceptional athlete.
Among the many people I got to meet, it was him who really made an impression on me and over the years we have become good friends. Despite our many chats, I only learned about the gravity of Gabriel’s chronic kidney disease in December after he had launched his GoFundMe campaign, something I knew must have been difficult for him to do.
I was truly taken aback when I discovered what Gabriel had been going through and continues to go through to this day.
Something has to be done.
Here is a brilliant young man, arguably in the prime of his career, who has carved his own path to compete at the highest level there is, all while representing a country he loves and gives back to in any capacity he can.
I just couldn’t help but think about how millions of Zimbabweans tuned in to the Rio Olympics from around the world to watch our athletes represent us and make us proud! However, it is with anguish that I see that Gabu’s story has been received with such indifference. As soon as the Games concluded; sporting bodies, associations, even the media and public in general turned a blind eye to this fellow Zimbabwean in his time of need.
I hope that by simply sharing his campaign through the media, social media and by word of mouth and making whatever small donations we can, that we can chip in to help Gabriel get his kidney transplant.
At the very least, we need to show our support to a man who has dedicated years of his life to representing his country and inspiring young athletes across the country through encouraging him and praying for him in his toughest battle yet.
Alexander Maseko is a former Zimbabwean national basketball player and Gabriel Mvumvure’s teammate during the 2011 All-Africa Games held in Mozambique. She was speaking to The Sunday Mail’s Tinashe Kusema from her base in South Africa on January 18, 2017.
