LEAD Mourns the Death of Highlanders Football Club Executives

STATEMENT

A Message from the LEAD Secretary General, Sydney Muyambi:

24 July 2026:

Harare_Football in Zimbabwe is more than a game. It is community, identity, and memory. It is one of the traditions that has kept us united despite our socio-cultural differences. And yesterday, that community was torn open.

On behalf of the Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats, LEAD, I join the nation in mourning the tragic passing of three Highlanders Football Club leaders who died in a road accident on 23 July 2026: Chairman, Retired Colonel Kenneth Mhlophe, Vice Chairman Sifiso Siziba, and Executive Member for Finance Nkani Khoza.We have lost men who gave their time, their resources, and their hearts to an institution that belongs to all of us. Bosso is not just a club.

It is a cultural pillar of Bulawayo and of Zimbabwe. To lose its leadership in one blow is to lose custodians of that legacy.Colonel Mhlophe brought discipline and stewardship. Sifiso Siziba brought vision and connection. Nkani Khoza brought financial prudence at a time when running a club is harder than ever.

Together, they represented the kind of leadership Zimbabwe needs everywhere: committed, unpaid, and rooted in community.LEAD extends heartfelt condolences to the Mhlophe, Siziba, and Khoza families, to the entire Highlanders family, to the Premier Soccer League, and to every supporter wearing black and white today. We also pray for strength for the players, technical team, and supporters who must now carry the club forward in grief.In moments like this, politics must pause. Rivalries must pause.

What matters is humanity. Highlanders united generations across class, language, and background. The best tribute we can pay to these leaders is to protect that unity, to support the club’s rebuilding, and to ensure their work was not in vain.May God comfort the bereaved. May the souls of Retired Colonel Kenneth Mhlophe, Sifiso Siziba, and Nkani Khoza rest in eternal peace.

Sydney Muyambi

LEAD Secretary General

LEAD: Together we can