Mboma, who was the founding father of the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association, died at his home in Borrowdale Brooke on Tuesday.
He was 63.
He left behind two wives — his first wife Virginia and his second wife Angeline.
“The initial burial arrangements, which included the first grave which was prepared, had been made by his second wife and were cancelled in the wake of the events at the Nyaradzo parlour on Saturday,” said a source.
“Mboma’s second wife wanted his body to lie in state at her house in Borrowdale Brooke and was not happy that the body was taken to his first wife’s house in Mount Pleasant after it was collected from Nyaradzo on Saturday.
“She cancelled the arrangements which she had done for the burial and his family in Mount Pleasant had to make fresh arrangements today (yesterday) on the day he was going to be buried.
“That is why the burial time was changed from 2pm to 3pm.
“This dispute has been going on since the day Mboma died and that is why you saw two funerals being held for him at two different houses — one in Mount Pleasant and the other in Borrowdale Brooke.
“There had been plans that Mboma’s body should also pass through Borrowdale Brooke today on its way to its final resting place but these plans were later shot down.”
There was drama at Nyaradzo funeral parlour in Harare on Saturday as the disputes resulted in a service, which was supposed to start at 1pm, only starting after 5.30pm.
His family, relatives and friends gathered at the parlour before 1pm but they were told to wait as there were some disputes which needed to be resolved.
It turned out that the biggest dispute was where Mboma’s body would be taken after the service at the funeral parlour — Mount Pleasant or Borrowdale Brooke.
“Two pairs of suits were brought for him and this caused some problems for the Nyaradzo staff,” said a source.
“So, we had a scenario in which the mourners gathered in the chapel, just after 3pm, and started singing but the casket bearing the body was not brought into the chapel because of these disputes.
“After about 45 minutes or so, the mourners realised that something was wrong and they moved out of the chapel.
“Stories started flying around that the body had already been taken but this was proved not to be true.
“Emotions were exploding and some of Mboma’s friends even confronted the Nyaradzo staff demanding that they wanted to take their colleague’s body to his home in Mount Pleasant.
“Phone calls were flying around and, in the end, some of his relatives were asked by the mourners to go into the parlour to confirm whether his body was still there.
“When they confirmed, it settled the crowd and in the evening the casket was brought into the chapel and body viewing was done and the body was eventually taken to his home in Mount Pleasant.
“Mboma’s children, especially the older boys, had really become angry with how their father’s funeral was being disrupted by all these disputes and things were getting really tense.”
Yesterday, scores of football enthusiasts thronged Glenforest Memorial Park to pay their last respects for Mboma.
Hundreds of people, from all walks of life, converged at Glenforest to celebrate the life of Mboma.
Former PSL chairman, Twine Phiri, said Mboma was his brother and friend.
“I last checked on him last Monday and everything appeared fine. It was only after two days that I heard about his demise.
“We have lost someone who was a unifier, who stood for the truth, and had his national team at heart.”
Former ZIFA president, Vincent Pamire, said he was pained by the passing on of Nyatanga.
“We are left with a big void, which will be difficult to fill. For Mboma, nothing was impossible as he would always find a way out.
“It will be difficult to find someone like him in the near future.
“We worked together for a long time and everything he touched turned into gold and we are at a loss as a nation.”
