The Sunday Mail
AFTER missing out on the famous Munorurama trip to Malawi, yours truly was in Moroni, The Comoros last weekend as the Warriors battled to a goalless draw despite arriving just two hours before kick-off.
Unlike several others, whom we shall not shame, Va Shagare paid $460 for his ticket and had his visa processing fees on him.
One could tell this one was going to be another dramatic trip as officials from the Sports Commission struggled to flush out individuals who possessed unpaid for air tickets.
Heaven knows how they got them.
That exercise of smoking out ghost passengers saw departure being delayed by a good half-hour and there was relief all round when the chartered Air Zimbabwe plane took to the runway.
If anyone thought the drama would be left in Harare, a rude awakening awaited them at Moroni International Airport.
The Friends of the Warriors put up a moronic show in Moroni.
Led by one Zivanai Muwashu, the gang caused pandemonium, refusing to pay the visa processing fees and demanding to see the “relevant Comoros minister”.
Muwashu denies this, and even accuses The Herald of publishing a “dubious” report which claimed that “our fans caused chaos at the airport in Comoros because they did not have necessary visa fees”.
In this famed year of education, the year of learning a lot, Muwashu needs to be taught that lying is a very dangerous game.
Maybe he is taking after someone at 53 Livingstone Avenue.
Muwashu was not the only one in The Comoros, so his tale is not the only one to listen to.
But we can analyse it.
“The Friends were advised on all the costs involved, including accommodation and visa fees.
“Such information was communicated to the travelling fans. The executive of the Friends of the Warriors made sure all travelling supporters had required the funds.
“True to facts, when they arrived in Comoros, the fans took care of their transport costs to and from the stadium as well as buying their own food. But they all made sure they reserved their visa fees.
“However, complications arose when the Comoros immigration officials inflated the visa fees. We calculated the conversion rate of 30 euros to US dollars and this translated to $36, but the Comoros immigration indicated that it was $50.
“It was at this juncture that the supporters queried that anomaly and we complained to the Comoros authorities without confronting the officials.
“The challenge now was how the difference was to be paid since most of the supporters had budgeted the exact amount. A kind member of the delegation then came to our rescue and helped us pay the required visa fees,” Muwashu claims.
Now that’s a whole lot of crap.
May we remind you Muwashu that you and your gang even bragged that every member of your troop had the $50 needed to pay for visa application but would not be parting with anything above $36?
Who told you that $36 and not $50 was the charge for processing a visa? Do you want me to remind you that it took some effort to make your so called Friends of the Warriors accept the hosts’ plea that you stop blowing vuvuzelas at the airport as that was not in sync with observing Ramadan?
With Fungai Chihuri, the head of delegation, abandoning his duties while curiously claiming to be only responsible for players and the technical team, Shariff Mussa came to the rescue.
Yes, that same Mussa we hailed as team manager par excellence last week!
Classy Mbare Chimurenga
Members of the Mbare Chimurenga choir were part of the Friends of the Warriors delegation and these women and men were just a joy to travel with.
They started singing at Harare International Airport and never stopped.
No, that’s not entirely true. They stopped singing, sat and watched as the drama at Moroni International Airport unfolded for a good two hours.
After that they sang on.
Va Shagare exits the scene.
VaShagare is the founder of DeMbare DotComs and can be contacted on that Facebook page as well as the email [email protected]
