The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
Weeks after his sad and tragic death, efforts to trace the origins of his nickname have yielded little or no results.
After all, one does not get a moniker like “Coach Ghost” without an interesting story behind it.
It seems many who either knew or worked closely with the late basketball coach Onayi Mupozori never bothered to ask where and why he got that nickname.
“Honestly speaking, I don’t know the true origins of that name,” said Girls High sports director and GreenStars co-founder Itayi Chafota.
“I don’t think many people know who actually gave him that name or how he got it.
“When I first met him in 2010, he was already using it, and I never really bothered to ask him.
“Even at his funeral, I remember some of his relatives actually asked me the very same question and I failed to give them an answer,” he said.
Another close associate of the late Mupozori, Evans Gasva, could only surmise that the nickname was closely associated with his big bulging eyes.
However, the smirk on his face and lack of conviction told the story of someone who could not resist taking one last friendly jab at a close and personal friend.
While the truth of the origins of the name is likely to remain a secret, especially given the fact that the one person with all the answers has shuffled off this mortal coil, what is beyond doubt is his contribution to Zimbabwe basketball.
On January 9, 2022, the sport was robbed of one of its most loyal servants.
According to his close friends, “Coach Ghost’’ raptured an old hernia operation while playing a pick-up game in Malawi.
The doctors tried to repair the damage but it was far worse than they anticipated, as it had spread to his kidneys after affecting other bodily functions.
He was 39. Born December 11, 1982, Mupozori was a product of Uzumba High School, which is where he started his basketball career. Not the most of prolific players, he is best remembered as a vital cog in local basketball development.
His legacy lies in the coaching department, where he started off at Mbizi Primary School before moving to Girls High School (GHS) to help launch the GreenStars project.
At the time of joining GHS, the school had just lost its title in 2010 and needed something drastic to change their fortunes.
Due to his work at Mbizi, which was a product of the Hoops for Hope programme, Mupozori’s name came on GHS’s radar.
“Coach Ghost started working with us in 2011, but we had already met and talked a bit the year before.
“We had just lost our title to Roosevelt High and needed a change.
“We decided to concentrate on development and needed an extra hand in the coaching department.
“His name was then suggested to us by a few of the girls who had worked with him in Highfield, after which we reached out and met,” Chafota said.
The discussions led to the birth of the GreenStars project.
Over the years, it has churned out names like Gertrude Mapiye, Mellisa Mwanza, Tracy Magovere, Mary Chawaipira, Kimberly Marembo and many others.
With GHS, he won the NASH title alongside Clement Kufeketa between 2013-2019 at both Under-20 and Under-16 levels.
The two also won the HBA women’s title with GreenStars and made the BUZ National League finals on two separate occasions.
Mupozori then moved to Malawi, where he had been coaching until his death.
He was also co-founder of Elite Junior Basketball Academy alongside close friends Kelvin Ben and Gasva.
There was little to differentiate Mupozori on and off the court, and the man bled basketball through and through.
“When you hear the name Onayi Mupozori, basketball and basketball development comes to mind,” said Gasva.
“All we talked about was basketball, whether he was here in Zimbabwe or when he moved to Malawi.
“We were both die-hard Boston Celtics fans, and every time they played he would wake me up to discuss the game.
“He even formed a WhatsApp group for Celtics fans in the Southern region, and we are saddened by his loss,” he said.
On his legacy, it must have been Chafota who best describes it.
“Legends don’t die, but they continue to live on in their works and the people they touched.
“Onayi, or Coach Ghost, is a legend and the sport of basketball has been robbed by his death,” he said.
