Benjamin Mwaruwari (born 13 August 1978), retired Zimbabwean professional footballer and striker
Benjani Mwaruwari
By Lovemore Dube 8/12/2022
BENJANI OR Mpenjani Mwaruwari rates among the highest profile football players to come out of Bulawayo.
A list of impressive football clubs in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom punctuated a colourful career for the forward.
Born on 13 August 1978 in Bulawayo, Mwaruwari had a normal township upbringing where his dad fended for the family.
Entertainment options were few and football then got to be what he could express himself in as an individual at a time bullying was active in the townships.
A stone’s throw from his Old Magwegwe home was the Marisha Shopping Complex, City Council Beerhall and a football field where childhood hero Boy Ndlovu had horned his dribbling skills in the 1970s.
At both Magwegwe Primary and Secondary Schools Mwaruwari excelled in sports. He was a good sprinter and a decent footballer on the pitch.
There is a Tshuma man popularly known as SaCee who identified Mwaruwari and had him play for Nottingham Forest the local junior side. It is where Mwaruwari established himself as a thorn in the flesh for defenders with his strong built, stamina, dribbling and shooting prowess.
After his 16th birthday Mwaruwari’s stock continued to rise and naturally for any glowing talent back then, two options stood out. One was that Ali Dube the Highlanders juniors coach would bully him to join Bosso or Lazarus Zimangi and Surgery Mpofu would coerce him to move to Zimbabwe Saints.
Dube moved in quickly and Mwaruwari found himself playing alongside former Railstars star Siza Dube, Noel Cele, Oswald Sibanda, Wonder Tshuma, Mkhuphali Masuku, Bruce Tshuma and several other boys who rose to Division One and Premier League status.
With Bosso rebuilding following the retirement and departure of veterans Rahman Gumbo, Madinda Ndlovu, Mandla Balanda, Cornellius Jele, Adam Ndlovu, Wayne Albertyn and Thabani Moyo, Bosso turned to Lovemore Msindo for salvation bringing in Tapera Madzima, Lewis Kutinyu and Archbald Chashaya instead of promoting its own juniors Mwaruwari, Zenzo Moyo and Noel Cele.
At 19 Mwaruwari moved to Lulu Rovers in Chegutu. He was quick to adapt to staying and playing away from his family and scored for fun.
At the end of the season in 1997, Mwaruwari came to Bulawayo and played for Magwegwe in the inaugural Horsepower Tournament sponsored By Rutz Medicals’ Nhamo Rusamo.
He had everyone asking who he was after scoring a 45m scorcher in the preliminaries and soon Bulawayo’s four Premiership clubs AmaZulu, Railstars, Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints were asking.
AmaZulu appeared to have won the race and paid him some signing on fee of about $40 000 (local currency) in January 1998. But after former President of Zimbabwe Canaan Banana stepped in, Mwaruwari and his handler Roy Phiri were forced to return the money to AmaZulu and the striker moved to University of Zimbabwe where his partnership with Nkululeko Malaba was of note.
The following year he joined Air Zimbabwe Jets. A call up to the Under-23 side began his rise.
Two brilliant goals against Botswana in the qualifiers, a good showing against Angola in the next round of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, saw Clemence Westerhof call him up to the senior national team.
When it’s meant to be, it gets to be.
Mwaruwari pushed and shoved for the Warriors against South Africa in Thabo Mbeki’s Inauguration and that was enough to convince Mzansi legend Jomo Sono to sign him up.
In South Africa from 1999-2002, Mwaruwari established himself as a fearless striker and won the Footballer of the Year gong before being sent on loan to FC Grasshoppers by Cosmos.
He continued to impress and deservingly earned a move to French League 1 side Auxerre where he enjoyed a fruitful stay.
In France he scored a goal in every four matches with a tally of 19 from 72.
A good player does not stay in one place, he was soon on his way out after four seasons at Auxerre joining Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth FC in the English Premiership where he would earn an FA Cup medal.
He scored 19 goals in 70 matches and was one the road again this time to Manchester City to share the dressing room with some of the biggest names in the game in 2008.
In 2005 Mwaruwari joined Bruce Grobbelaar, Kennedy Chihuri and Musa Mguni Ina list of Zimbabweans to win silverware in Europe when he scored a goal in Frenc FA Cup against Paris St Germain.
By moving to the UK, Mwaruwari was the third Bulawayan and Zimbabwean to play in the English Premiership after Peter Ndlovu and Grobbelaar both former Highlanders FC stars.
He had memorable moments in England scoring for City against Liverpool and in the Manchester Derby.
Three years later he was loaned out to Sunderland on loan in 2010 and later a move to Blackburn Rovers where he was for a year before rounding up his career with a short stint at his beloved Portsmouth whose fans he has always held in high esteem.
In 2012 Mwaruwari moved to Chippa United in South Africa and moved a year later to Wits FC.
He retired in 2014 and pursued coaching badges and was at the beginning of 2022 given a chance to coach but did not last long at Ngezi Platinum in Zimbabwe.
He has since returned to the UK where his family lives.
His son Junior has just signed a professional contract with Portsmouth ensuring the footballing genealogy is taken to the next generation.
For the Warriors Mwaruwari played 42 times and scored 10 goals. He was at one stage the team’s captain and featured in the 2006 Afcon finals in Egypt.
Mwaruwari invested in properties in South Africa, Zimbabwe and overseas.
