As Dynamos Football Club finds itself battling relegation in the 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League, former player Cephas Chimedza has shared a revealing and at times comical story from 2003 that sheds light on how deep-rooted the club’s issues really are.

Reflecting on that season, Chimedza recounted an incident involving a dilapidated team bus—what he bluntly called a “death trap.” At the time, Dynamos were in contention for the league title but were travelling in a bus so unreliable it should never have been allowed on the road. He wrote:

“Dynamos had a bus like the one in the photo. That bus, to put it lightly, was a death trap. It was not supposed to be on the road at all.”

According to Chimedza, the only players who could manage the bus were Tendai Tanyanyiwa and Munyaradzi Mashiri, who doubled as emergency drivers when things got bad.

One Sunday on their way to Rufaro Stadium, the bus broke down near the Holiday Inn in Harare. With no phones, no money, and no officials—just players dressed in full match kit—the team found themselves stranded.

By coincidence, AmaZulu, their title rivals known for their strong Seventh-day Adventist values, were camped at the same hotel. Chimedza remembered the moment with a mix of amusement and irony:

“Here’s the crazy part—we saw AmaZulu boarding this luxurious coach. They were heading to Gwanzura. I’m not sure if it was Lenny [Gwata] or Agent [Sawu] who spoke to an AmaZulu official to ask if they could give us a lift to Rufaro.”

True to their values, AmaZulu agreed to help. But the experience on board was anything but normal for the Dynamos players.

“In football, singing before a game unites the team. It gives you energy and focus. But how do you do that in someone else’s bus? We couldn’t sing. We just sat quietly, found empty seats, and smiled politely. Deep inside, I wanted to break into ‘Dembare yaita mamony.’”

The surreal experience continued after they were dropped off on the roadside near the stadium. The team, still in full kit, had to walk through crowds of fans to reach the gate. Yet with no team bus in sight, security personnel at the main gate didn’t believe it was actually the Dynamos squad trying to get in.

“The gate was packed with people trying to get in without paying. The guys manning the gate ignored the banging. To them, it was just fans begging for favours. We stood there dealing with kids asking for bandages and fans begging to be let in.”

Eventually, a small opening in the gate allowed officials to peek through and confirm it really was the team. By the time they got inside, they had only ten minutes to prepare for the match.

Chimedza’s reflection was both sobering and telling:

“For anyone at Dynamos, this was just a normal day. It wasn’t seen as embarrassing or something that needed fixing.”

Two decades later, as Dynamos battles to stay afloat in the 2025 season, Chimedza’s story echoes the kind of dysfunction that continues to haunt the once-mighty Glamour Boys