Grieving Gulubane prepares heroic funeral for Tiro

47121,Koketso Kgoboge,, | Friday May 5, 2017 00:00

The speedy winger collapsed during a Township Rollers training session last week Friday and died from a suspected cardiac arrest. Wednesday morning here is quiet. There is less movement and the mood is sombre. The small village, with a population of a little over a 1,000 people, lies northeast of Mathangwane.

It is accessible by a gravel road a few kilometres from the Francistown/Nata road (A3), but the gravel road makes the distance seem longer than it really is.

Crime, as the village Kgosi, Ezekiel Gulubane presumed, would not be a common occurrence.

Six wards would seem a relatively big number for a village with a small population. The scattered houses in a typical village setting stretch the wards. However, it seems the village is closely knit. Everybody knows each other.

It was by no surprise that on arrival at his grandmother’s house, where preparations for the funeral were on-going, a group of villagers have converged, sharing chores and working in unison for the proper sending off of their hero.

In Gulubane, ‘The President’ as Tiro was known, was a version of Zinedine Zidane in France, a David Beckham in England and a Samuel Eto’o in Cameroon. Villagers alike, including the head of the village, Kgosi, highly revered him.

Kgosi’s office is decorated with a collection of silverware that the only football team in the village, Gulubane Sporting Club (SC), Tiro’s club away from Township Rollers, has collected over the years.

Kgosi says together with his people, they are grieving a village hero who has not only made their village known but also won Rollers many supporters in the village.

“We looked forward to watching Rollers play so that we can see Tiro play,” Gulubane says. “I can safely say majority of the villagers are Rollers supporters today because of him. We are deeply saddened and it is still hard to let the loss sink in.”

He explains that Tiro was an inspiration to the young children in the village and he was the reason the entire village looked forward to the festive tournaments, that he never missed.

“He played selflessly for us. He brought celebrations in the village. We won a lot of accolades because of him and he never disappointed us. He contributed massively in the growth of the love of football in the village.”

Kgosi says they are expecting an unusual number of people in the village and as a result they have made arrangements with the Roads Department to better the bad state of roads ahead of the funeral.

Moathodi Willie, his coach at Gulubane SC, adds that in respect for their star they have decided to stop using his number two jersey. He says Tiro’s passing has left an irreplaceable gap on his side.

“The team is deeply saddened and the thought of the next holiday tournament haunts us. He is going to be greatly missed. He was a leader, who shared a lot of himself and his things with the rest of other players.

“We changed our team colours and adopted the colours of Township Rollers because of him. We have our entire kit printed on his name in his respect and we will be clad in our team colours at the funeral.”

Herbert Rasmus of Chuma ward says he had known Tiro from a tender age and watched him play big boys from other villages while he was still a primary school pupil. He says without Tiro, festive season would never be the same in Gulubane.

Rasmus says the village will be at stand-still on Saturday, as they will be laying their hero at his final resting place.

Tiro’s uncle, Abednico Showa appreciated the cooperation from the villagers and from Township Rollers. He says the village has joined the family in preparing for a large crowd that they are expecting at the funeral over the weekend.

Showa says they have engaged the local Police to help control the crowds. He reveals they have organised a good number of people to usher all those who will be attending the funeral.

“We have people on the ground and Rollers supporters are also helping. Tiro was a man of many people, therefore we have organised his funeral in such a way that the villagers along with his teammates from both Rollers and Gulubane SC will have their fair share of sending off their star.”

He says a night vigil will be held on the eve of his funeral at his grandmother’s house in Chume ward and the player will be laid to rest on the next morning at the Chume ward burial site.