Wicknell Chivayo has pledged a Toyota Aqua and US$20,000 in cash to Victor Kazembe, the diver known as Coach Rambo, who recovered three bodies from a sewer pond in Budiriro on Monday morning.
Chivayo announced the reward in a social media post on Tuesday, pushing back at followers who had been tagging him, demanding he recognise Kazembe.
“KUCHEMA KWENYU NDAKUNZWA asi handiwanzo kuda hangu vanhu vane dzungu vanondi mhanyira kumberi. Please always give me time,” he wrote, saying he needed time to understand the background before offering recognition.
He said he had heard Kazembe “went swimming in thick sewage waters trying to save some children somewhere muno mu HARARE” and added: “Aiwa tinokutendai MUKOMA RAMBO and for that I say WELL DONE… On Saturday morning, he can gladly go and see MADZIBABA CHIPAGA and collect a TOYOTA AQUA and USD20,000 for fuel.”
Kazembe was called in after emergency services were alerted that a man had drowned in a mud hole at a City of Harare sewer works site in Budiriro.
What began as a rescue for one man turned into the recovery of three bodies. Working with the Harare Fire Brigade, Kazembe first retrieved the body of a young woman who had gone missing on Sunday evening, then a second body of a man who was not the reported victim, before finally recovering the third body – the young man who had fallen into the mud pool.
City officials said the bodies were retrieved from a sewer line where council teams were clearing a blockage.
Deputy Mayor Rose Muronda and other councillors remained at the scene until the early hours of Monday.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has ordered an immediate investigation into the deaths.
The victims have been described locally as two young men and a teenage girl, who died in a waterlogged excavation in Budiriro 3, left open during sewer repairs.
Kazembe, a sub-aqua diver with 16 years’ experience, described the operation as the most disturbing of his career.
The trench was filled with thick sewer sludge, making the dive extremely dangerous, and standard diving procedures do not allow operations in mud because oxygen systems can fail.
“I went down carrying an oxygen tank only for emergencies. It was a sacrifice so that these souls could finally rest in peace,” he said.
Witnesses said the excavation had been left open for months after contractors dug up the site in February, and residents had tried to pull the first victim out with a branch but failed because of the thick sludge.
One of the bodies appeared to have been trapped beneath the sludge for several days, raising further questions about the circumstances.
Kazembe told reporters: “Since 2008, this is the first mystery I have encountered. We were looking for a man… I expected to retrieve a man wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but what we found was completely different”.
Chivayo, in his post, praised Kazembe’s bravery and “amazing love”, saying Zimbabwe needed “more patriotic Zimbabweans like you”.
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