SOMVUBU High School headmaster Khumbulani Sibanda thought
he had saved a life when he responded to a sudden call for help to ferry a
collapsed player to Mpilo Central Hospital using his personal car only to be
told the devastating news that the 18- year-old promising star had long died
when they arrived at the health institution.
The player was Mpopoma High School pupil Cedric Dube who at
the time of his collapse was playing for Talen Vision in a Zifa Bulawayo province
Division Three league match against Bulawayo City at Barbourfields Stadium’s
outside grounds.
“Cedric was chasing the ball and he just fell and there
were calls for me to assist carry the boy to the hospital since I was the only
spectator with a car close by. I drove my car to the centre of the field and
together with team manager Jacqualine Ngwenya and one Khulekani Siziba we
carried the boy and put him in my car,” said Sibanda.
He said he quickly drove to Mpilo Central Hospital where
upon arrival they asked for a stretcher as they frantically tried to save a
young life.
“At that moment I was convinced the lad would soon be with
us again. We were attended to by a female doctor with a Moyo surname and after
a few moments, she came back with the most devastating news. She told us that
she tried all she could but the boy was already dead when we put him on a
stretcher from my car. Inyembezi zendoda ziphelela esifubeni but that day it
wasnt the case with me. It didnt matter that the boy was not my relative as I
was only a spectactor because of my love for the game but surely why would he
die just like that. I thought of his peers, his parents who at that time knew
nothing of the tragic turn of events,” said Sibanda.
He said Ngwenya later called Talen Vision bosses and the
now deceased’s mother using his mobile phone since they had left theirs at the
ground.
“I also could see sympathy in the eyes of the young doctor
who probably thought she will be blamed for failing to save a life but it was
clearly not her fault. The boy was gone and I was to later learn that he was
also a student at Mpopoma High School and was their Under-20 captain,” said
Sibanda.
Nicknamed Spoonky, Dube was recruited to the Highlanders
Under-14 side by Dumaza Dube before crossing the floor to join Talen Vision. At
the beginning of the year, he trained with the Bosso developmental side that is
coached by Melusi Mabaleka Sibanda but his grandfather Caleb Sibanda advised
him to stay in junior football for another year before he could further his
football career. It was never to be.
Dube was laid to rest last Wednesday at Athlone Cemetery at
a moving funeral attended by scores of people who included high profile soccer
personalities and pupils from different schools. Chronicle
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