‘I Truly Love My Country’: Themba Gorimbo Says He Was Wrong To Denounce Himself As A Zimbabwean
Zimbabwean MMA fighter Themba Gorimbo has apologised to those who took offence at his decision to distance himself from his Zimbabwean identity, saying he made the move while dealing with anger and emotional distress.
Gorimbo explained that his earlier remarks about belonging to the universe followed what he described as hurt caused by the country and some people in it.
“Nobody has been really so proud to be Zimbabwean as an mma athlete than me in the past. Off course i made that statement that i belong to the universe after so much hurt from the country and some people from and in it . I denounced myself as a Zimbo from anger and emotional distress caused by some people. On the government side I was hurt already which made the decision easier to make.”
Gorimbo Explains His Change In Stance
In a lengthy Facebook post, Gorimbo reflected on his relationship with Zimbabwe and said he had previously taken pride in representing the country throughout his MMA career.
He recalled wearing Zimbabwean colours during his fights, including an occasion when he turned down a US$50,000 sponsorship opportunity so that he could wear a shirt bearing the country’s name.
Gorimbo said he had been offered the sponsorship after The Rock’s team came to interview him, but chose to wear a Zimbabwe shirt instead.
He said he told the sponsor that brands were not allowed on his clothing, acknowledging that he had sacrificed the money to have Zimbabwe represented on his chest.
“I loved my country and every t-shirt I wore of shorts during my fights I wore Zimbabwe flag with pride. Big example the day The Rock team came to interview me . I had a sponsor who wanted to captalise on the opportunity for his brand for $50 000 to wear his brand shirt . I opted to wear my country shirt written Zimbabwe.
I lied to him that they didn’t allow me to wear brands. I lost money but i got the country name on my chest.”
Meeting Zanu PF Members In New York
According to Gorimbo, his position began to change after he experienced what he described as hurt from some people in Zimbabwe, including on the government side.
He said meeting some Zanu PF members in New York over the weekend prompted him to reconsider his decision to distance himself from Zimbabwe.
Gorimbo said the encounter made him realise that some people viewed him negatively because he had stopped openly identifying as a Zimbabwean.
“With that being said after meeting some ZANU PF members in New York this past weekend. I saw the hate they had for me not being proud anymore to be a Zimbo.”
‘I Truly Love My Country’-Themba
The MMA fighter said his previous comments were made in a moment of emotional distress rather than because he no longer cared about Zimbabwe.
He acknowledged that some of his statements had hurt people but said there was a reason behind his change in attitude.
“I truly love my country. I hate some things and off course I’ve said things that hurt others but i am not Benzi rinomuka rakango Jamuka. There is a reason why I say what I said and i will take my words back now. I am sorry to those who hated me without getting full context of why i took a sudden turn.”
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