Sinikiwe Mpofu Husband: Who Is Shepherd Makunura?

Shepherd Makunura was the husband of Sinikiwe Gava Mpofu, a Zimbabwean cricket player and coach.

Makunura was also a cricket player and coach who played two Logan Cup seasons before being forced to retire due to injury.

He served as fielding coach of the Zimbabwe national cricket team and also coached Zimbabwe A, Zimbabwe Under-19s and several domestic teams.

Makunura and Mpofu were married for many years and shared two children.

Born in Salisbury (now Harare) on 23 October 1976, Makunura attended Chengu Primary School in Highfield and then Prince Edward School on a scholarship.

A right-handed batsman and right-arm off break bowler, Makunura was discovered by a Zimbabwe Cricket Union development program for urban areas.

He made the national under-15 squad, as well as joining the Takashinga Cricket Club.

He played three matches for Mashonaland A in the 2001–02 Logan Cup, recording a career-best 62 runs against Midlands.

He returned to first-class cricket in the 2006–07 season with two matches for Northerns against Southerns and Kenya Select.

Sadly, his playing career came to an abrupt end in 2007 after he sustained an achilles tendon injury.

Aftter retiring, Makunura coached the Zimbabwe national under-19 cricket team from 2008 to 2010.

In 2018:

• He was the head coach of Zimbabwe A for series against Canada and Kenya.
• He coached the Zimbabwe XI at the 2018 Africa T20 Cup in South Africa.
• He joined the Zimbabwe national cricket team as fielding coach, a position he held until his death in 2022.

In domestic cricket:

• Makunura led the Mountaineers franchise to three consecutive Logan Cup titles from 2017 to 2019 and
• Created history by winning a record fourth consecutive title with the Southern Rocks in 2020.

Makunura died at the West End Hospital in Harare on 15 December 2022, following a lengthy illness which prevented him from travelling to the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.