The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
THE grieving mother of Mbare Select fly-half Lennox Chingozhoro believes her son heard death calling.
Fifteen-year-old Lennox drowned at Waterfalls Swimming Pool on November 3 just a few days before he was due to start life at Churchill High School where he had been offered a scholarship thanks to his rugby skills.
His mother, Petronella, told The Sunday Mail Sport that Chingozhoro “saw” death around the corner.
“As his days drew closer, he was acting strangely and more mature,” she said. “He was behaving in a manner one would not expect of someone of his age and it made me wonder what was going on with my boy.
“I remember at church he would come to me and hold my hand and say let us do what other couples are doing.”
Lennox, added his mother, had also fallen in love with movies that focus on the afterlife.
“He became interested in watching Christian films and mostly would repeat ‘Heaven is Real’ and ‘I am Gabriel’. That made me really scared but I never thought that my son was preparing me for his death,” she said.
Lennox, who at times played as a centre, was excited about moving from Mbare to Churchill High School.
“He was supposed to hand in his documents last Sunday at Churchill High School and start his lessons on Monday. He was very excited about it,” said his father, Fungai.
Churchill High School coaches had kept track of the budding star after a fine performance at the annual Dairibord Rugby Festival in April this year.
Fungai believes his multi-talented son was headed for dizzying heights.
“He was good at javelin and won a lot of medals. When he told us he was venturing into rugby last year we were supportive of the move since we knew how much he loved sport,” said Fungai.
Mbare Select coach Vitalis Madzikanda described Lennox as a key member of his team.
“He was a very talented rugby player who could step past opposition players and he possessed a sharp mind,” said Madzikanda.
“He appreciated the game so much and his decision making was just something else.
“We were not surprised when a number of schools asked about him after the Dairibord Festival because Lennox had used that grand stage to show the nation how good he was.
We are pained to have lost such a young life but such is life we need to accept it and move on.”
