The late Angirayi Chapo was far more than just a teammate and captain to legendary Dynamos skipper, Memory Mucherahowa.
Popularly known as Durawall in football circles, Chapo passed on Tuesday at his Mufakose home.
He was laid to rest at Glen Forest Cemetery on Thursday.
In his moving eulogy to the former Dynamos player and ex-Zimbabwe international, who died in Harare this week, Mucherahowa revealed that Chapo’s passing has robbed him of a true hero.
Chapo, along with Moses Chunga and Clayton Munemo, was instrumental in protecting him when he was first promoted to the senior team at Dynamos.
Mucherahowa, who succeeded Chapo as Dynamos captain in 1994, recounted how their lives were intertwined from a young age.
Both grew up in the same Magandanga neighbourhood of Mufakose and shared a path of succeeding each other as football captains at Gwinyiro Primary School.
“When my parents moved to Mufakose in 1974, I was six. The following year, I started Grade One at Gwinyiro Primary School,” Mucherahowa recalled. “Angirayi and his elder brother Barirai (who is also late) were the names being talked about as the school’s best footballers.”
Mucherahowa’s interest in the game grew as he watched the outstanding Chapo brothers play.
Barirai was the Grade 7 captain, while a two-years-younger Angirayi, whose leadership qualities were already evident, went on to captain the school team in Grade 6 and Grade 7.
Chapo’s subsequent career saw him disappear briefly after moving to Mozambique, before resurfacing to play for local lower-division teams like Saltrama Plastics, Cocraine (Cosoco), Sugar Refinery, and Metal Box.
Mucherahowa fondly remembered how he and other youngsters would sneak over the perimeter wall at Mufakose’s Number One ground—the home turf for most of these clubs—just to watch Chapo play.
Mucherahowa's first significant adult encounter with his hero came after he joined the Dynamos juniors. Though Chapo was already a household name in the senior team, Mucherahowa assumed the defender didn't know him—until a chance meeting in Mufakose.
“I was with my friends when he appeared in our street. We watched him in admiration until he reached us,” Mucherahowa said. “I was surprised when he politely greeted us back and shook my hand. I was so excited that one of Zimbabwe’s greatest players had mentioned my name.”
The anxiety-filled transition to the senior team was made bearable by Chapo’s continued warmth.
On one nervous ride to training, Mucherahowa, though comforted by the presence of his friend Munemo, was still intimidated by the senior players.
When Chapo boarded the commuter omnibus, he again greeted the young player by name.
The moment that cemented their bond came soon after.
When a senior player, Henry Chari, joked, "Mufanha Memo kuno hakusi kuMufakose" (Young Memo, this isn't Mufakose), Chapo was quick to intervene.
“Before I could answer back, Mukoma Angirayi said, ‘Haaa aaa iwe Madzvanya (Henry Chari’s nickname) siyana nemupfanha wedu uri kunzwa. Mupfanha uyu hapana zvamunomuita as long ndiri mupenyu.’
“This is how Angirayi protected me from day one and throughout our days at Dynamos.”
Chapo also encouraged Mucherahowa to play his normal game, even when the youngster admitted he was scared to tackle him for fear of retaliation.
Chapo simply laughed and assured him, “‘Aaah mupfanha wangu ini ndino kena hard asi I will never do it to you. Just play your normal football.’”
From then onwards, Chapo, Moses Chunga, and Clayton Munemo became his dedicated protectors, making him feel at home in the intimidating environment of the senior team.
Mucherahowa also recalled how Chapo looked after him on his debut national team trip to Algeria in 1991.
As one of the youngest players, Chapo took him under his umbrella, often fighting Mucherahowa's battles.
On the connecting flight back from Athens, Chapo approached a senior teammate who had been trying to unsettle the young Mucherahowa before a match.
Mucherahowa overheard the three-hour-long conversation, which he realised was Chapo defending him all the way.
“I have many heroes in my life, and certainly Angirayi is one of them,” Mucherahowa concluded.
“I have lost my brother, my friend, and someone who guided me throughout my football journey. Rest in peace, my brother. Heaven has gained an angel.”
