DEMBARE, THE GAMBLE, THE STORM, THE CALM
. . . Chawonza was lynched, he stuck to his values
AMID the celebrations, which have followed Dynamos’ first major piece of silverware in seven years, the turbulence which rocked their stricken ship in August, and almost destroyed their season, appears to have been forgotten.
The Glamour Boys leaders’ decision to sack coach Herbert Maruwa and suspend assistant coach, Murape Murape, and team manager Richard Chihoro, was met with stiff resistance.
For the executive to take on a powerful man like Chihoro was viewed by many as something that was tantamount to signing their exit package.
A lot of pressure was exerted on the executive, with some social media ghost accounts emerging to condemn the executive led by Moses Maunganidze, in relentless attacks which even tested the unity of this leadership.
One executive committee member, in particular, bore the brunt of the attacks.
He was labelled as the hardman, with a ruthless streak, who was wielding the axe and torching the confusion at DeMbare.
Vincent Chawonza, the Dynamos vice chairman, was the man who was targeted in that vicious onslaught in which he was portrayed as a ruthless sports dictator who was out of order.
However, Chawonza refused to flinch an inch. He remained committed to his values and the executive’s interventions to try and rescue their season.
Even when it was risky to speak out, at the height of the crisis, Chawonza provided the voice for the leadership to back their interventions.
“What we are trying to do here is to cleanse the team of all these ills, the divisions, the indiscipline, the inconsistent results and something as serious as suspected match-fixing,” he said in August.
“What we want at Dynamos is stability, I am hopeful we will see a different Dynamos after this.
“It was all getting out of hand.
“So, there is no way we are rocking the ship. It’s already in troubled seas and interventions were needed.”
Four months later, that ship has moved out of the stormy waters, under the guidance of a coach, Genesis Mangombe.
Mangombe would not have got the job, without the club’s leaders going for broke, and cleansing their house.
It was a very risky move and, amid the worst of the storms, Chawonza stood firm as a powerful voice for a leadership under threat.
The Chibuku Super Cup is their reward, the first step in this club’s return to the days when glory was guaranteed.