Richard Chihoro

When he arrived at Dynamos he was very skillful and made life difficult for most defenders such that his former teammate Shaw Handriade gave him the nickname Nyoka. It had nothing to do with the juju thing, said Chihoro.

Chihoro arrived at Dynamos in 1970 as a fresh-faced 14-year-old and went on to distinguish himself by rising through the ranks. At 18, Chihoro was already promoted to the senior team. Unfortunately for him, his arrival coincided with the era of George Shaya which meant he had to be content with a place on the bench. He was then loaned out to KB Royals and later on to Mutapa Royals before he went on to have a stint with CAPS United Football Club. After one year at the Green Machine, he was forced to hang his boots following a recurring injury that he had suffered whilst at Mutapa Royals. ^[1]

He had joined on a season-long loan in 1983 when they wanted a replacement for the injured Shacky Tauro. Darryn T then offered him employment in 1984 and he joined a team that had the likes of Misheck Boroma, Mugove Munyorovi, and the late Richard Kawondera.

In 1987 he quit Darryn T and ventured into coaching, starting off with a team that was called Cafca which was in Division 5. He joined Unique Select in 1993 but did not last there because the franchise would soon be sold to Regis Dzenga who renamed it Harare United.

He returned to coach the Dynamos juniors with the likes of Freddy Mukwesha (late), who was the director of coaching, David Mandigora, Elvis Chiweshe and Kenneth Jere (late). They started a serious juniors’ project. In 2006 they were moved to the senior side, Mandigora was the head coach with George and Chihoro came in as one of the assistants. They won the league title in 2007 but two years later, they all resigned following a string of poor results. He was back with the juniors in 2010 and a year later he was appointed team manager. ^[2]

Chihoro was appointed as Dynamos team manager in 2011 in a technical team that was headed by Lloyd Mutasa. Before that he had served as assistant to David 'Yogi' Mandigora, alongside David George and they also reached the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League in 2008. His association with DeMbare dates back to the late 1960s when he joined the club’s juniors before gaining promotion to the senior team in 1972.

Events

Juju Allegations

A lot of Dynamos’ rivals have a strong belief that Chihoro is the reason behind the Glamour Boys’ dominance in local football due to his “powers”. Since he was appointed in his role in 2011, DeMbare won four straight league titles and numerous cup competitions.

Chihoro has also not helped matters as he sometimes performs unusual antics on the touchline that leaves no doubt in many people’s minds that he is indeed a juju master. "Juju, yes it is there – but it doesn’t work in football. At times I have been accused of sprinkling juju on the pitch but it's all mind games. "I know people are scared of me and I give them more reasons to be scared of me by toying with their minds in every manner I can". "In August 2014, at Barbourfields, I just picked up ordinary sand from the ground and sprinkled at the at the point at which Highlanders players were supposed to use to enter the pitch." "All hell broke loose!" "I was insulted verbally and Highlanders players scaled the fence into the stadium – in their own backyard. They were scared and we won 1-0 on our way to a fourth straight league title."

"Even at the end of that 2014 campaign, I jokingly advised the organisers of the league championship presentation ceremony to set the stage at the National Sports instead of Gwanzura because I was confident DeMbare would lift the title ahead of ZPC Kariba", said Chihoro.

Premier Soccer League Suspension

On 22 March 2023, the Premier Soccer League suspended Chihoro for misconduct, following his alleged "anti-juju ritual" in Dynamos’ 1-0 victory over Hwange at Babourfields Stadium on 18 March. During the half-time break, Chihoro went onto the Mpilo end goalpost and sprinkled an unknown substance across the goal line. A video of Chihoro performing the ritual went viral.

PSL spokesperson Kudzai Bare said the disciplinary proceedings shall take place on Wednesday 5 April 2023 at the PSL offices. ^[3]

Suspension By Dynamos

Chihoro was suspended by Dynamos alongside assistant coach Murape Murape in August 2023 following the sacking of head coach Herbert Maruwa. ^[4]

The Dynamos leadership had given Maruwa a five-game ultimatum in which he had to win ALL matches, starting with the game against Hwange but the match ended goalless. The club charged Chihoro with gross insubordination, extortion, gross incompetence, and bringing the club and its stakeholders into disrepute.

Picture Gallery

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  Richard Chihoro during a Dynamos match at Rufaro Stadium

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References