Bosso's reaction to Placardgate duplicitous, unacceptable, irresponsible

On Friday Zimeye.com published further reactions from Bosso CEO, Ndumiso Gumede , this, after comments Gumede had allegedly given The Herald on Thursday following The Herald's first edition of the ‘story' they had earlier run on, on Tuesday.

We are disgusted to see Bosso trip on its own toes to prostrate itself to tribal villains in The Herald and the powers behind it (The Herald) in this latest reaction to placardgate. We must put it on record: TO THE END OF THE WORLD, IT WILL REMAIN THE CASE THAT IT IS THE TRIBAL VILLAINS IN THE HERALD THAT SHOULD APOLOGISE TO BOSSO, NOT BOSSO TO TRIBAL VILLAINS IN THE HERALD.

Bosso has of course not apologized to The Herald and its Gukurahundist and Shonaist handlers, but is certainly apologetic to them!

Before we unpack Bosso's latest blunder, a bit of background.

A year or so ago, someone wrote an article or comment condemning what they referred to as the politicization or the Dynamosization of Bosso by the Bosso executive when the executive allowed Gukurahundi to enter Bosso's House of the Game and pour in the paraffin of politics under guise of assisting with a mere ‘bus'. Excitability, superiority, knowing-it-all, and being enlightened ‘nationals' kicked the integrity, decency, and authenticity of Mthwakazi to the verges. The ‘bus' event rolled on as if Highlanders FC's ownership had now changed!

Ndumiso Gumede's fibble, meandering and compromised reaction to Placardgate, today, must be understood in the context of this fatal and very poor error of judgment last year.

In the behalf of Bosso today, Ndumiso can't provide a truly Bosso reaction and position to Placardgate because he and his executive allowed themselves to be turned into political figures inside Bosso's game and, through that, helped turn Bosso into a political playground for Gukurahundists and Shonaists of the type represented by The Herald today. Today, a Gukurahundist and Shonaist institution - The Herald - has struck with mischievous tribalism against Bosso and Boss is totally disarmed and emaciated to respond adequately, appropriately, fully, and fittingly as a sports club, not a political appendage or extension of a shadowy political project. Let us examine the now political and politicized entity Bosso has been turned into by this executive in Bosso's reaction to Placardgate.

Here is Ndumiso Gumede, Bosso's CEO, when interviewed by The Herald on Wednesday, 14 September 2016:

"More than fifty percent of my players are Shona people not Ndebeles so I cannot understand how someone can choose to be tribal and say such offending statements."

As if it was ever to Bosso that needed to ‘defend' itself, and not for Dynamos to say how many Ndebeles it has in its present squad and has had in its past squads since its formation in 1963. How can truth defend itself? Quite simply, truth is itself!

Here, Gumede has tried to wear a sports hat, but, fully conscious of where he is (even who he has become), he can't but let that sports hat quickly dissolve into a political cap. He goes fully-blown Shona: "We even have a song ‘Highlanders Team YeNyika Yese' …"

Gumede could quite easily have said: "We have a song ‘Highlanders iTeam YeLizwe Lonke'! But, no, this is The Herald remember, where anything Ndebele is a BIG, no, no, and Gumede is conscious of it! And to impress even more, he politically lynches the poor ‘fan', much of course to the delight of The Heralds' Gukurahundists who rush to print those utterances: "If the supporters can identify him, we will deregister him if he is a member of Highlanders because he doesn't belong here and has no place in the club." And " … police can go and get him …, hatchets Gumede" And on the same political vein, and not to be outdone in political prostrating, Peter Dube, Bosso's boss and current PSL chairman, puts in the further political boot: "So, if it is proven and the person can be positively identified, surely he should face the music." What music!

But here is the same Ndumiso Gumede - now (mentally) in Bulawayo - speaking at Bosso's Club House and in comments carried by The Chronicle, The Herald's ‘small brother' paper. The Herald, The Chronicle's ‘big brother' paper, is published by the same Zanu-PF government company, Zimpapers, and based in Harare, while The Chronicle, also published by the same Zimpapers, is Bulawayo-based. Political sword now pointed the other direction, here goes Gumede in Bulawayo:

"We are not going to condone that, never at all but we are asking ourselves as to the motive behind publishing such pictures. There were many banners there that were sending peace messages but you guys (media) chose an offending placard. We had our supporters going to the Nkomo statue preaching peace but then all that was inadequate" (emphasis supplied). But the same motive stood during Gumede's interview with The Herald on Wednesday last week, why didn't Gumede question the motive DIRECTLY with the political mischief-maker herself, The Herald, then, when he spoke to them?

He goes on: "There is a very strong song that has been sung from the Mpilo End comparing Highlanders to faeces yet there has not been any condemnation when things are done by other parties they are downplayed."

Remember the song Gumede quoted verbatim in Shona for the political vandals at The Herald a few minutes ago, which perhaps in Gumede's mind, is ‘nice' to The Herald Shonaists? Here, the song the Shona sing at the Mpilo End of Barbourfields stadium is not quoted, presumably because in Gumede's mind, it would ‘not be nice' for Shonaists to hear, and is of course, also in Shona.

And then - displaying political fear - Gumede stabs ‘generally' with a political hammer: "We think as the Fourth Estate you went overboard reporting negativity." The Herald … suddenly the ‘Fourth Estate'! The Herald! But I digress. Getting back to the point.

First, we would like to know whether Ndumiso Gumede said all the things he is alleged to have said, both to The Herald and The Chronicle? We can only learn that from him.

And secondly - and going back to the whole point of this article - why the different political musings to The Herald in Harare and The Chronicle in Bulawayo over the same sports issue, openly politically pandering to Shonaism and Gukurahundism in Harare and politically attacking the alleged Bosso ‘fan', and being covertly political against The Herald while in Bulawayo, than overtly - and seemingly being ‘supportive' of the alleged Bosso ‘fan' in Bulawayo?

Third, why become political at all? When we warned against the Dynamosization of Bosso, and when Bosso fans expressed disgust at one Emmerson Mnangagwa being dabbled at a Bosso event, Gumede reacted. There will always be a difference between urging calm and advocacy!

Fourth, having chosen to be political at all, why not have the courage of candour and say things as they are and name and shame, directly, the tribal villains and Shonaists and Gukurahundists at the politically perverted, Herald, than seek to fuddle and muddle? Uxakuxaku!

So, which is which Gumede and Highlanders FC? Do you politically blame The Herald's tribal villains, and not the Bosso ‘fan', or not, not both, dependent on location? This matter isn't a student essay requiring ‘balancing an argument. It is moral, political, and ethical issue pitting right against wrong and compelling Highlanders FC to STAND UP on the side of right and CONDEMN evil. So why hasn't Highlanders done so today? The answer is not difficult to see.

In agreeing to turn Highlanders over to political scoundrels from Harare (Gukurahindists) and Bulawayo (political novices with no political launchpad), detailed above, Gumede's executive at Bosso created two parallel conundrums.

Firstly, they sold Highlanders' sports soul to the political avarice of Harare and Gukurahundism and Shonaism. Once in that political fold, Bosso has now got to act as in that political fold, no less! Placardgate demonstrates this fully!

Secondly, once the first point is true - and it is - Highlanders has no life of its own, whether as an alleged sports club or otherwise, outside of its political utilitarianism in the hands of political manipulators, like Dynamos. To that extent, Highlanders FC, like Dynamos, is now an extension of Zanu-PF, Gukurahundism, and Shonaism but with a particular brief on uMthwakazi, where Dynamos does the same for the Shona. To the extent this is true - and it is - the ONLY true football sports clubs in Zimbabwe are all other football teams OUTSIDE Dynamos and Highlanders FC. Bosso can't simply have it both ways!

Ndumiso Gumede and his executive should have known this, and knew this, but went on to politicize and Dynamosize Bosso regardless because they could, and because they are ‘national' where the rest of us lowly Mthwakazians are ‘tribal'. It is now political payback time for Gumede and his friends.

Zanu-PF and its Shonaists and GUkurahundists that are planted deep in State and other private and public institutions are now expecting Highlanders FC to politically deliver on their side of the bargain, which in this case, is to numb Highlanders FC fan's protests against this offensive tribalism coming from Harare and The Herald. Highlanders FC must now accept the political label of perpetratorhood in place of victimhood. The victim villain is now Bosso and the villain victim, The Herald!

Bosso has been politically screwed!

What the Bosso executive has done today in its duplicitous handling of Placardgate is perpetuate exactly what Bosso should now be stopping: the collectivization and collaterization of Bosso as a ‘legitimate' political target for political lynching by these villainous political hoodlums in The Herald and elsewhere masquerading as the State or State institutions.

The foundations of Placardgate is the Grand Plan. And Highlanders may just be one of the last institutions associated with uMthwakazi that Gukurahundists and Shonaists are now attacking. All they have ever needed was a way into Bosso and this Bosso executive gave them it. We may have witnessed the first of a series of direct political amphibious attacks on Highlanders FC launched from the political cesspool of Gukurahundism and Shonaism.

The long-term solution is simple. Either Bosso is a sports club or it is a combined sports club and a political formation - such as Dynamos is - or it's not.

Placardgate demonstrates the calamity and grief of trying to be all of these.

But there is an immediate solution too.

If not for having taken Highlanders on this ill-advised political sojourn on behalf of Zanoids in the first place, then for its horrendous handling of Placardgate, Ndumiso Gumede and other members of that executive closely-connected to this saga, must resign. And immediately too! Those who made the same call around the Bosso-Mnangagwa issue, and Bosso's ‘participation' in the so-called Gushungo Cups, have been vindicated.

And while at it, the new Bosso executive that will come in must de-register Tshinga Dube from the club and disassociate Highlanders FC from him. His recent and rather feeble and politically ambiguous foray into Placardgate amounts to nothing in the face of the damage he has done to Highlanders FC. And to be sure - and for clarity - Tshinga Dube is not Highlanders' patron or political protector - as impressions sometimes are so created. Highlanders FC needs and expects no political protection of anyone. Highlanders FC will be here long after the Tshinga Dubes and the Zanu-PF's of our time are long gone from this earth.

Where we needed a robust, clear, responsible, and truthful response to Placardgate, this executive has given us political musings and soundbites that are only driving Highlanders further and deeper into the political mire of vandalistic Gukurahundists and Shonaists found everywhere bent on destroying Bosso in the name of, and in the behalf of, the Grand Plan.  

Bosso needs a new executive that will turn Highlanders FC away from the clutches of the Grand Plan and return Highlanders to its true owners - the Highlanders tribe - and remove it from the destructive tentacles of this present political sports administration - even if meant Highlanders FC has to play football only at Nguboyenja Grounds against Mthala Boozers.

There, after all - in the community - the spirit of Highlanders FC - and its gods - remains and is located!  

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Vuli Moyo <vuli.moyo@gmx.com