The Herald, April 8 1993
IT’S probably the most famous stadium in the country and many teams in various sporting disciplines have tasted the glory of victory and the anguish of defeat on its turf.
Football fans argue whether their favourite team should insist on playing league matches there, and on weekends, when there is a big game and it is the venue, all roads lead to Gwanzura Stadium in Harare’s Highfield high-density suburb.
But who is Gwanzura, and why was the stadium named after this individual, or rather, individuals?
Initially, the stadium was conceived on the lines of the open-air amphitheatres found in North Africa, and specifically the idea of building such a facility in Zimbabwe was borrowed from Casablanca, in Morocco.
The driving forces behind the construction were two brothers, Eric and Fanuel Gwanzura, who were a businessman and builder, respectively.
Fanuel, the builder, died in 1984, but his brother, Eric is now living in Chegutu. Eric was appointed one of the first black senators in independent Zimbabwe. He said, in 1961 he went to Casablanca and saw a similar amphitheatre, where people could sit on terraces — eat, drink and relax in the open air — and immediately decided that such a facility was needed back home.
Upon his return, with his brother, he applied to the then Salisbury City Council for permission to utilise the land which has been lying idle for many years and when permission was granted, they started building the stadium using their own funds. However, money soon ran out and they were forced to borrow 1 000 pounds from Fulton and Evans, who were forthcoming with the loan.
This was at a time of heightened black nationalistic political activity, with Highfield being the epicentre, and soon the Gwanzuras fell foul of the colonial regime for their political activities.
In 1964, they were thrown into detention by the Ian Smith regime and since they had not repaid the loan in full, the authorities decided to attach the as yet incomplete stadium to recover the outstanding money.
Eric Gwanzura said his wife wrote to him in jail informing him of the attachment, and he strongly advised that one of his shops in Highfield should be sold to recover the money, rather than having the stadium taken away.
The outstanding amount was about 350. He said his wife was told that the decision to attach the stadium could not be reversed as the process had already been completed. So, while the brothers languished in jail, their project was sold to the then City Council for 650. The Council though named it after the founders. Eric Gwanzura said they were later given 350 from the proceeds of the sale, but had effectively lost the stadium.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
For business to flourish, it needs people who has foresight as was shown by the Gwanzura brothers who conceived the idea of building a stadium which is still bringing enjoyment and pleasure to soccer loving Zimbabweans.
In life, nothing is impossible. If you embark on achieving something, the sky is the limit if you have the resolve.
Indigenous people if given room and space to operate, can be a force to reckon with in the business world.