He met his fate while wearing a Manchester United shirt, almost like millions of Zimbabweans who find solace in the EPL

Kelvin Tinashe Choto, a 22-year-old captain of an armature football club from Zimbabwe’s largest suburb of Chitungwiza, was watching his teammates strutting their stuff on their grassrless field.

Just like any other day, football meant no harm to the youths playing on this field. But a bullet struck Choto’s head on Tuesday and he was declared a dead man on the scene.

“I have been robbed,” his father said to AP while crying. “He was my only son and his future was bright. I have been robbed by the state.”

This was during violent protests by angry Zimbabweans venting their anger against the sharp rise in fuel as well as high cost of living.

With their state president globetrotting on a hired private plane that siphoned already dry state coffers, Zimbabweans took to the streets to express their anger at what has been obtaining in their country

But a brutal military crackdown was effected by the government, leading to Choto’s death and many others. Choto’s coffin was draped in his jersey to commemorate what he loved best, football, and his teammates chanted war songs out of their hearts.

“He was our future,” said Choto’s father, Julius as the family buried him on Saturday. “He was disciplined, respectable and nonviolent. All he cared for was his football. He was a very good footballer.

“Maybe they thought he was an (opposition) activist since he was wearing a red Manchester United jersey,” his father told The Associated Press.

More painful to his family, Choto was due to travel to South Africa for trials with a number of First Division teams.

Goal.com