CAPS UTD TRAGIC TRIO, TWENTY YEARS LATER
EXACTLY 20 years ago, tragedy hit CAPS United, who lost three players to a horrific accident some few kilometres outside Norton.
Blessing “Yogo Yogo” Makunike, Shingirayi Arlon and Gary Mashoko, together with two CAPS United supporters, perished on March 13, 2004.
The car they were travelling in hit the pillar of a bridge and caught fire.
They were driving from Bulawayo where CAPS United had played against Njube Sundowns.
Although Makepekepe went on to win the league title that year, their second since Independence and one that they dedicated to the late trio, the pain of losing their key players in such fashion has never faded away.
Makepekepe will use the FIFA International break, which runs from March 18-26, to visit their graves and also buy groceries for their families, as has become a ritual since 2005.
Makunike, who died at the age of 27, was buried at Yeovil Cemetery in Mutare while Arlon and Mashoko’s remains were interred at Granville, popularly known as Kumbudzi, in Harare.
Makunike was the most popular among the three, as he was a gifted midfielder who debuted for CAPS United as a teenager in 1997.
“We are collaborating with our fans to visit the grave yard (Makunike’s), and also to visit the family of the late footballer.
“Given that this is the 20th anniversary, we will do the same and also assist with groceries.
“This has been the way of celebrating the life he lived and the legacy he left,” said CAPS United CEO Morton Dodzo.
CAPS United would have wanted to commemorate the late trio today but because of a busy work schedule, the programme has been shifted to next weekend.
Mashoko was a promising left back at the time of his death while Arlon was already a proven goal poacher having featured for Makepekepe in the late 1990s.