Late Boxer Zimunya Laid To Rest

By Gilbert Munetsi

The late professional boxer Taurai Zimunya – who passed on following a boxing contest that later turned fatal last Sunday – was laid to rest yesterday at Restland Cemetery in the high density suburb of Dzivaresekwa.

For a budding boxer building a career in a sport ironically regarded as “sweet science,” the events preceding his burial equaled that of a long established pugilist.

For starters, his former workmates in the touting industry (he was a kombi conductor) demanded their fair share of the usual farewell rituals which saw the body driven into the city centre on top of a commuter omnibus.

The development culminated in the delay of the burial proceedings.

Body viewing had to be done at the cemetery following further demands by colleagues who desired to see their friend for the very final moment.

The late Langton “Schoolboy” Tinago may be the sole sportsman to have been accorded hero status to date, but the empathy following circumstances that led to Zimunya’s death were just enough to draw the who-is-who in Zimbabwean boxing to the send-off ceremony.

The fact that there could be no time afforded for speeches was testimony  to the attendees’ quest  to wholly own the programme and lay to rest their kith in a fashion only they prescribed befitting.

Former Commonwealth champion Arifonso Zvenyika (arguably the best achieving fighter to grace yesterday’s  ceremony) entertained mourners with a polished hand pad drill that left gatherers in awe of the remnants of a celebrated  icon that he is.

Also present were boxers Kudakwashe Chiwandire, Philip Musariri, Simon Madanhire, Tinashe Mwadziwana, coaches Jeremiah Chiyangwa, Issa Phiri, Paddy Makumucha and Simon Sankulani, as well as renowned referee/judge Patrick Mukondiwa.

Members of the national boxing control board secretariat were also in attendance.

A day earlier, co-director of the Charles Manyuchi  Boxing Academy, Prosper Chibaya, had in the company of Tinashe Majoni (who fought Zimunya in the last battle) visited the late boxer’s homestead to pay their respects.

There have been calls from the fraternity to ensure Majoni is taken for counseling as the trauma of the accident has the potential to also affect him psychologically.

And calls also continue to grow from stakeholders for authorities to expedite a benevolent fund into a more viable project that is able to take care of the needs of boxers when incapacitated by sickness or injury. Nhau/Indaba