The Zimbabwe senior national netball team known as the Gems woke up to interrogations by the British police in the early hours of Friday morning following reports by a London based Zimbabwean journalist that some players were underage.
The team which is currently in Liverpool for the Netball World Cup had the police knocking on their doors at 0200 hours making follow ups on reports which are believed to have been made by Simba Chikanza the owner of popular online publication Zimeye to the effect that the team was comprised of underage players who were being starved in their quarters among other human rights violations.
Zim Morning Post understands that when the police went to where the gems are staying, they spoke to Maimba Mapuranga the public relations manager of the team who had to wake the sleeping sportswomen and collect their passports to verify that they were all eligible players.
“The police came to our lodgings at 0200 hours and I had to collect all the passports from the players for inspection to insure that indeed all the players were of age,” he said.
“The players were interrogated and it became evident that everything was in order but the encounter with the police shook them a bit as it was an unusual call.
“The police were evidently wondering why a fellow Zimbabwean was calling for the investigations of the team.”
It is alleged that the netball players were being advised to abandon their games and seek asylum in Britain instead.
This melee comes after an attack by opposition protesters on a Zimbabwean delegation in London led by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Busi Moyo, who was on a four-day re-engagement programme to strengthen ties and lure investors in UK.
Meanwhile, despite the disturbances, the Gems managed to record good performance beating Sri Lanka in the opening match and they also beat Northern Ireland.
