Footballer Philip “Chandi” Chandisaita committed suicide on Sunday due to undisclosed domestic issues.

Chandisaita (38) who played in the Eastern Region Soccer League for Buffaloes FC as a defender, took his life after watching a Premier Soccer League match between Tenax and Dynamos at Vengere Stadium in Rusape.

According to Buffaloes coach Shepherd Nkata, Chandisaita headed to Headlands to his family home after the match but consumed an unknown poisonous substance along the way. Said Nkata:

Chandisaita was at Vengere stadium yesterday for the Tenax-Dembare game. After the match, he did not return to Mutare.

Instead, he said he was visiting his mother in Headlands. Along the way, he took poison. He then called his mother and told her to come and pick him up along the way.

When his mother arrived, he was already dead. I’m in pain. I did not expect this from him, but that’s what is there now.

It’s so sad. As Buffaloes FC, we were saddened by Chandisaita’s death.

Eastern Region Soccer League (ERSL) vice chairman, Wisdom Simba, expressed sorrow over Chandisaita’s untimely death. He said:

It’s true that we lost Chandisaita yesterday after an undisclosed domestic dispute.

As ERSL, we are saddened by the loss of the experienced defender. He was a disciplined player.

We also urge our players to learn to share with others their challenges. It helps a lot. Committing suicide is not the solution.

• The Mirror