'Leave Pirates or die': Terrence Dzvukamanja reveals death threats

Orlando Pirates forward Terrence Dzvukamanja has revealed horrifying death threats he allegedly received from unknown people who wanted the Zimbabwean out of the club when he was battling to adjust to his new team.

Speaking in Pirates' three-part television documentary on SuperSport TV that details the ups and downs faced by players and staff last season, Dzvukamanja said he went through depression because of the threats.

Dzvukamanja, 29, said this happened late last year when he was not enjoying game time and his future at the Soweto giants looked bleak.

The forward then confounded his detractors by hitting form in the second half of the season, scoring eight goals in 20 games in all competitions and playing a crucial role in Pirates clinching the Nedbank Cup and second place in the DStv Premiership.

Dzvukamanja said apart from receiving direct messages in his inboxes on social media threatening his life, he would also receive calls on his cellphone. 

“I received death threats, they didn’t want me here [at Pirates],” Dzvukamanja said in the SuperSport documentary.

“[It happened] last year, from September 2022 until December.

“They would come into my inboxes, and they called me — I don’t know where they got my number from.

“Even at malls ... there was a time I went to a mall, and someone told me directly, ‘If you can’t leave, we will make you leave.’ I don’t respond in such cases.

“They would keep sending messages saying, ‘We know you are ignoring us, but if you don’t tell your agent or your bosses you want to leave, we will make you leave — or [make you] leave the earth’.

“By that time I had to tell my parents, my agent, even the boss of the team about what was happening.”

The striker is one of several players who were booed by Pirates fans during the 2022-23 season.

Dzvukamanja, who is a breadwinner for his family in the Zimbabwean town of Chegutu, said he considered drowning his sorrows with alcohol.

“I was scared at that time, I won’t lie, because anything can happen. Sometimes I would come to training but my mind was not there. 

“It affected my game because mentally I was not OK. I would say that, yes, I went through depression because sometimes I would feel it was better for me to drink alcohol so I could relax or else it would be stressful.

“It was very stressful. It was draining me emotionally. They said I had to leave the club because I didn’t deserve to be at Pirates.”

Pirates coach Jose Riveiro on several occasions last season appealed for Bucs' boo brigade to get off his players' backs, defending Cameroonian striker Bienvenu Eva Nga, goalkeeper Siyabonga Mpontshane and Dzvukamanja.

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