Besides scoring goals like they were going out of fashion, former Zimbabwean international Alois Bunjira had many interesting experiences in his career, which took him to the likes of Qwa-Qwa Stars, Bidvest Wits, Mamelodi Sundowns and Jomo Cosmos in South Africa. This is understandable, if one considers that he played from 1994 right up until 2009. However, when it comes to being unbelievable, gripping and hilarious, none of those experiences come close to that of how he almost joined Orlando Pirates back in the '90s. It's never been told before. This being a publication where storytelling lives, former professional footballers are always welcome to let their hair down on these pages. With that in mind, Soccer Laduma's Lunga Adam decided to invite the erstwhile striker to narrate the unbelievable story in his own words. Enjoy!
Lunga Adam: Hi, Alois! Welcome back to Soccer Laduma's pages. Well, we think some Orlando Pirates fans will be ready to kill you after reading the story you're about to share with us today!
Alois Bunjira: Ha, ha, ha, ja, man, at that time, I was a young boy. I was already in the senior national team when I was 17 and it was my second year in the professional ranks. I was still in school! Everyone wanted my services back then because I was really hot.
LA: So, what's the story? What happened?
AB: So, sometime back in July of 1993, in my third season as a professional footballer at Darryn T, we were having our usual training session at Prince Edward School. One gentleman arrived and started watching the training session from the sidelines. After a couple of minutes, our coach at the time, Wieslaw Grabowski, went to the man and the two of them started talking. A while later, I was called to where Grabowski and the gentleman were standing. When I got closer, I recognised the gentleman as Shepherd Murape…and he was introduced to me. I was told that coach Murape, who was now the assistant coach at Orlando Pirates in South Africa, wanted Usman Misi and I to go with him to South Africa to join Pirates. I was doing my Upper 6 at Prince Edward School at the time and I explained that there was no way I was going to join Orlando Pirates in the middle of my A levels, a few months before the final exams.
LA: Before we go any further, please explain what is Upper 6.
AB: Oh! So, in our education system, primary school is from Grade 1 to Grade 7. At high school, one goes from form 1 to form 4. After form 4, one can go to a vocational college and other tertiary institutions for certificates and diplomas. But if you want to go to university, after passing Form 4, one has to have enough pass marks to proceed to Form 5 and Form 6. You only go to university after passing and having good marks in Form 6. Form 5 is called Lower 6 and Form 6 is called Upper 6.
LA: Got it. Now you can go on…
AB: So, Grabowski explained to me that no, I would just be going to South Africa and training with the team during the August school holidays, when Pirates were in pre-season training, and then join them in December after my exams. That was agreed, and all was set. Then, at the beginning of August, Usman Misi left for Pirates first, as I still had another week to go through at school. The following week, I was put onto the Greyhound bus by Grabowski, and off I went to South Africa, on strict instructions that I was to just wait by the bus when it arrived at Park Station in Johannesburg, until Murape came to fetch me. I was a young 18-year-old schoolboy who had never travelled to South Africa before. The closest I had ever been to South Africa was when I travelled to Swaziland with the national U20 team the previous year for the U20 COSAFA Cup tournament.
LA: Why couldn't they have flown you out? Travelling such a long distance by bus, even as a teenager, must have taken some physical toll on you.
AB: Why I didn't travel to South Africa by air, only Grabowski and Murape know. I can only speculate. I guess it is an interesting story for another day, ha, ha, ha.
LA: Sure.
AB: I arrived at Park Station around midday the next day, and to say the place was busy would be an understatement. I was so scared, what with the all the stories we used to hear about South Africa, apartheid and the way they burnt things in the streets during the days of political turmoil and violence in that country. So, I stayed rooted to the Greyhound bus as instructed. Remember, those days Park Station was not as nice as it is now. There wasn't the underground shade where luxury coaches now dock at. Murape came a few minutes after the bus arrived and took me just around the corner into Smit Street, to a flat in that street, right at the end of Hillbrow, where he stayed. A few Pirates players also stayed at that same flat. I was going to stay with Murape in his own flat for that whole month. My countryman Misi was also staying at the same block but sharing a flat with another player. Wow, at last I was in South Africa!
LA: Dream come true… sort of.
AB: But to be honest, I was not overawed by being in a nice flat though. I was coming from a background where I was staying at St Tropez Apartments in Eastlea, where Grabowski was renting a flat for me and "Shuto" (Stewart Murisa), for easy access to Prince Edward School. It was a beautiful apartment in the affluent complex of St Tropez. So, the next day, Grabowski flew into South Africa, where he was picked up by Murape from the airport. They came to pick me up from the flat and we all went together to Irvin Khoza's office in town, somewhere near Carlton Centre. Khoza was also running a sports shop downstairs from his office, in partnership with some Indian guy. I was introduced to the Orlando Pirates chairman by Murape. Khoza smiled and welcomed me. He said I should feel at home in South Africa. An agreement was reached that day that I wasn't on trial but I was there to see and check out the club, but would sign for Pirates in December after I finished school. Those days, I think pre-contract agreements didn't exist, ha, ha, ha, because I could have signed that one. At that time, I could tell, no one in that room bothered about me going to university after A level, ha, ha, ha.
LA: Ha, ha, ha, you know what they say, football has to be the winner at the end of the day!
AB: All was agreed that I would be in Johannesburg for three weeks. Khoza then pulled out a wad of Rand notes and gave to me, saying it was my pocket money during my stay in Johannesburg. I can't remember well how much it was, but it was a good lumpsum. Grabowski and Khoza stayed behind in the office while Murape and I left and went downstairs. Probably, like typical Grabowski, he wanted to have his own private conversation with Khoza and a private agreement, ha, ha, ha.
LA: Hmmm…
AB: Grabowski went straight back to the airport after the meeting. The following morning, Murape took me and Misi to the Pirates training grounds. That time, Pirates were training at Marks Park. Or was it Sturrock Park? I'm not sure anymore. But I think it was Marks Park, man. That was the first time I got to meet players like Mark Fish, Gavin Lane, Jerry Sikhosana, Helman Mkhalele, John Moeti, Edward Motale etc. Ha, ha, ha, at that time I didn't even know who they were! They were not big names yet in Zimbabwe and were just footballers to me, at the time. Mike Makaab, who, years later, became my agent and manager, was the coach. Before training, I was introduced to the whole team and everyone greeted me. They were told I was teammates with Misi in Zimbabwe and I could see they looked at me in awe but with respect because Misi had already shown them he was brilliant and they believed I was just as good... well, as young and small as I was. Otherwise Murape would never have recommended me to that big club. That is the time Pirates were regrouping for that league championship onslaught that culminated into that CAF Champions League victory in 1995.
LA: What happened next then?
AB: After training that first day, we went back to Hillbrow, all tired. Misi then introduced me to what became my addiction to this day. After we bathed, we went to Spar Supermarket, just up the road, and we bought Inkomazi (a brand of sour milk). I had only known Lacto, but that day I met Inkomazi and fell in love, ha, ha, ha. Lunga, trust me brother, I love amasi (sour milk) with all my heart. My sad story about this trip started on our way back from Spar.
LA: Haybo! How come?
AB: Right by the corner of our flat, there were guys who were playing morabaraba (two-player strategy board game). Just as we were going past them, they broke into an argument. As we stopped to watch them, one of them pulled out a gun and pointed it at the other one, shouting in a language I didn't understand. Man, I froze in horror! I had never seen a gun so close to me in my life and I had never seen it being pointed at anyone in real life. Before I could move from my frozen state, the gun was fired into the air. Goodness me, the loud bang! At first, we thought the other guy had been shot, but when we saw him running away, Misi pulled me and we started running away to our flat. We got to the flat almost breathless. I was in shock.
LA: Oh no man. That must have been a terrible experience.
AB: When Murape came to the flat that evening, we told him the story, but he just laughed and said, "Ha! It is normal here." Normal? Unbelievable, if you ask me. I was even more shocked with his response. I was now scared to even go outside. We trained alright though for the rest of the week, with Misi being the only brave one to go buy my beloved Inkomazi. Training was fun. We were playing a lot of small-sided games and I enjoyed it because at Darryn T, that is what we ever played, almost all the time. I remember also that is the time I first met Japie Motale, at the Pirates training sessions. He was still very young and most of the time he would not be given time to train, and I would sit with him outside each time my team was knocked out in those small-sided games. I think he was coming from the juniors at the time. That weekend, Orlando Pirates were playing in the Iwisa Charity Spectacular at FNB Stadium. Misi actually played for Pirates that weekend but I didn't. I wasn't even part of the squad as I had not been signed as yet. I watched the matches from Murape's flat, alone, with all doors locked, ha, ha.
LA: Just in case… ha, ha.
AB: The next Monday was a free day and Misi persuaded me to go to Carlton Centre in town with him for window shopping and checking out the city. Big mistake. Two streets into town, after we checked this other Holiday Inn with blue glasses, around a street called Nugget, we saw a man lying down in a pool of blood, dead, with people just walking past him on the pavement. We were told he had just been stabbed to death. Some people were even jumping over him and going to wherever they were going, without even flinching. I got sick to the stomach right there. I told Misi I was going back to the flat as I couldn't take it. I was s**tscared. Now every man I was looking at, I was thinking he could pull out a knife or gun anytime. I ran back to the flat and left Misi behind. When I got back to the flat, I started packing my bags.
LA: Wait, what?
AB: Murape was not there. Misi arrived and found me all packed. I told him I was going back to Zimbabwe that very day. He thought I was kidding. I had enough money from the cash Khoza had given me. I asked Misi to let Murape know that I was gone. There were no cell phones back then. I couldn't live in a country like that as I was scared to death. Misi followed me downstairs, into the street, where I flagged a taxi. The taxi took me to Park Station, which was just less than five minutes away, where I purchased my ticket for the afternoon Greyhound bus to Zimbabwe. The bus came around 15h00, and off I went, back to Zimbabwe. When I arrived in Harare, I went to Darryn T training the next day. Grabowski was fuming. Irvin Khoza had called him to tell him that I had run away. Ha, ha, ha, Grabowski's face turned red with rage, but I explained to him what happened and I told him I couldn't stay. After training, he took me to his house, where his wife Christine asked me what happened. She probably asked him to bring me. She was very understanding. I think her being a doctor helped. Briefly, she spoke in Polish to Grabowski, and I could see Grabowski softening up. I was then let go and I went to our flat. It was back to business at Darryn T and Prince Edward School. That year I was selected, once again, as one of the 11 Castle Lager Soccer Stars of the Year. So, that is how my dream of joining Orlando Pirates died.
LA: Geez, just like that!
AB: This was the same Orlando Pirates that went on to win the league title and went on to win the CAF Champions League in 1995. If it wasn't for those scary incidents, I could have been a part of that Champions League victory, who knows. I later got to meet some of the Pirates players, like Edward Motale, the late John Moeti, Mark Fish and Mkhalele when the Dream Team played South Africa in Johannesburg later that year. Coincidentally, we stayed at Karos Johannesburger Hotel in Hillbrow, just 200 metres away from that Pirates flat, ha, ha, ha. Reinhard Fabisch lost his briefcase when one thug snatched it while boarding the team bus for training at the hotel. I had a good laugh about my Pirates experience with the Pirates players in the South African squad after the match, when I explained to them why I disappeared. I later met them again in Mmabatho for the Simba Four Nations Cup in 1995. When I joined Jomo Cosmos later in my career, I met Mark Fish and Mkhalele. I am still good friends with Helman and "Magents".
LA: Amazing.
AB: To this day, I have not met Shepherd Murape again. We have spoken on the phone a few times, but we haven't physically met since that day. I later met Irvin Khoza years later, when I joined Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns, as an older and wiser player, but I don't think he remembered I was that same player who once ran away from his team.
LA: After he gave you a stack of cash, ha, ha, ha. Money can't buy you happiness hey.
AB: Ha, ha, ha, I guess so. Funny thing is that I scored regularly against Pirates, ha, ha, ha. To think that Pirates could have been my first club in South Africa, which could have changed the whole direction my life took, to this day. Ja, hey, crazy football stories of our times.
LA: You can say that again, brother. But at least you still forged a great 15-year-long career for yourself, and were actually a better finisher than most people give you credit for. Thanks a lot for your time, Alois.
AB: Yeah, yeah. In the end, no regrets. There were unforgettable moments, such as one time after we (Bidvest Wits) played SuperSport United at Orkney Stadium and one female fan, from Potchefstroom, came to our team bus after the match just before we left. She begged coach Roger De Sa to call Alois Bunjira from the back for her. She said she just wanted to give me a hug. Roger, naughty as he was, obliged and called me. I went down outside and gave the lady a big hug, ha, ha, ha. She was all smiles. Well, when I got back into the bus, everyone was clapping hands and shouting "Gazza!" Ha, ha, ha, I'll never forget that day. On a serious note though, I still regret that I never lived up to my potential. I didn't. But that's a story for another day.
