By Fanuel Chinowaita
Mutare, 5 December 2025 – In a landmark celebration of ability, community, and sporting spirit, the City of Mutare this Tuesday successfully hosted its inaugural Paralympic Sports Festival.
The event, running under the theme “Community building through sports for persons with disabilities,” transformed sporting venues into arenas of inspiration, fierce competition and profound unity, crowning champions across multiple disciplines.
The festival’s opening was marked by a warm welcome from His Worship the Mayor, Clr Simon Chabuka, who set the tone for the historic day.
“We look forward to a great day ahead, packed with sport activities, and performances that showcase talents and remind us that disability is not inability,” the Mayor stated, expressing his wish for the event to become an annual fixture.
He directly addressed the athletes, saying, “I believe in you, you are going to make this day a memorable one by inspiring and making us proud. Show the community what an inclusive community looks like.”
His words were powerfully brought to life as athletes from schools and clubs across the region delivered outstanding performances. The full list of winners in the contested events is as follows:
Intellectually Challenged Tag Rugby:
· 1st Place: Chirowakamwe Primary School
· 2nd Place: Sakubva Primary School
· 3rd Place: Zamba Primary School
Hearing Impairment Soccer:
· 1st Place: Harare
· 2nd Place: Red Buffalo
· 3rd Place: Cobra
Hearing Impairment Netball:
· 1st Place: Mutare
· 2nd Place: Rusape
· 3rd Place: Bulawayo
Five-A-Side Primary Schools Soccer:
· 1st Place: Zamba Primary School
· 2nd Place: Dangamvura Primary School
· 3rd Place: Mutanda Primary School
The official ceremony featured a keynote address from Mr. Sebastian Garikai, the Director for Sports and Recreation Development at the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). He praised the festival as a vital celebration of human potential, stating, “On the field of play, no one is defined by their background, their appearance, or how they were born. What truly matters is passion, commitment, and heart.”
Mr. Garikai specifically commended the City of Mutare for its visionary leadership in institutionalising inclusion. “When a local authority makes this kind of commitment, it means that even the way you build your infrastructure and create access to facilities will be informed by the people who need to use them. This is the true meaning of inclusion,” he said.
Echoing this sentiment in the closing remarks, Clr J. Nyamana, Chairperson of the Community Services, Housing, Health and Education Committee, reflected on the day’s deeper impact. “This day was not just about medalling athletes,” she observed. “Each one of us here has shown and defines para sporting excellence in a way that transforms own life, drives equality and community inclusion.”
Clr Nyamana highlighted a fundamental shift in perception achieved through the games: “I believe that your minds have been transformed and the image of a person with a disability is no longer one of charity or of a beggar, but of a football, netball player or an athlete. In my opinion, no other event can deliver such shifts in attitudes or drive social inclusion than these Paralympics Games.”
He credited the city’s “Visionary leaders” for embedding the Para-games immediately after its other major school sporting and cultural festivals, raising “a track record for the city as an inclusive city.”
The 2025 Mutare Paralympic Sports Festival has firmly established itself as more than a competition; it is a transformative community initiative.
As articulated by both leaders and demonstrated by every athlete, coach, and supporter present, the event stands as a powerful beacon for the nation, proving that through sport, we can collectively “build cities and communities” where everyone belongs.