To some the death of Kelvin Tinashe Choto (22), a budding Chitungwiza City footballer gunned down at the height of violent protests that rocked the country recently, is just a statistic.

Of course, he is one of at least 12 people who died at the hands of repressive state security forces countrywide. But to his teammates and family he was much more.

Julius, who hailed from the same neighbourhood where FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza and his CAPS United counterpart Lloyd Chitembwe grew up, carried his own big football dream.

His peers nicknamed him “Yaya” after Ivorian great Yaya Toure probably because they saw something special in him.

At the same time he idolised Manchester United superstar Paul Pogba and those were the heights he wanted to attain in his own career.

Julius’ family had so much faith in him, his wife Varaidzo Chiyanike and seven-month-old daughter Janel looked up to him to provide for them. And what of the car he promised his father Julius Choto the day he signs a mega contract?

“I’ve been robbed by the State,” a bereaved Choto wailed at his son’s burial last week.

It was a cry that pierced into the air, beyond the borders and broke hearts across the globe.

But when Standardsport visited his home yesterday he was bravely happy to talk about his son’s football dreams.

“He really wanted to go far with his football and there was no other thing he wanted to do in his life. I tried to change him to follow in my footsteps and become an engineer, but I failed because he loved football too much,” Choto said.

“I remember that twice he was offered an opportunity to join the army when he was with the Black Rhinos juniors and he refused. It’s because he wanted to go far with football.”

Childhood friend and Choto’s teammate at Junior Chiefs, Black Rhinos and Chitungwiza City, Talent Musarurwa revealed how far Choto had wanted to go with his career.

“We talked about our dreams every day we were going for training. For some reason, he believed that he would become as good as Pogba and play for a big club in Europe,” Musarurwa said.

“It was that dream that prompted him to go to South Africa to play there because he thought his rise would be much quicker once he started playing there.”

Apparently, Choto was supposed to go to South Africa for trials with an unnamed lower division side the very same week he was killed, ironically near a football field, clad in a red Manchester United jersey.

And right there his unfulfilled dreams and promises perished with him.

His father remembers one promise.

“I remember this one time a few years back he promised to buy me a car in the event he made a major breakthrough. We used to have a car and I sold it at some point and he would always say he wanted to buy me and his mother a car,” said Choto.

Kelvin’s interest in football began in Chitungwiza Unit A when he was about 10 years old after he joined his first club.

At 14, he was spotted by legendary footballer Stanford “Stix” Mutizwa, who took him to Black Rhinos where he went through their junior structures up until he was 18.

After failing to break into the Black Rhinos senior team, he then joined the new Chitungwiza FC project spearheaded by popular coach Solomon Mudavanhu.

“Chitembwe and Mapeza knew all about him and they were also monitoring him. It was in fact Chitembwe who advised him to stay at Chitungwiza City so that he could develop his game better and I think he had a future for Kelvin. They both came to pay their respects,” Choto said.

“The last two seasons every Sunday we knew we had to go to Nyatsime College to watch him play football. He would always make me proud carrying the armband and people would call me baba va Yaya all around.”

Football runs in the Choto family, with Julius having been a decent player himself as he was part of Wieslaw Grabowski’s ambitious Darryn T Juniors project alongside his younger brother Simon Nhete.

But it was the youngest brother, Phillip Nhete, who achieved more as a footballer, keeping goal for Harare giants Dynamos in the premier league.

It was this uncle that Kelvin wanted to emulate and outdo, according to Choto.

It is Chotos’ desire to now organise a tournament in memory of his departed son, funds permitting.

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