Africa-Press – Tanzania. CONDOLENCES messages have been pouring in from sports fraternity following the death of Zacharia Hans Poppe, a member of Simba’s Board of Directors who died in Dar es Salaam on Friday night.
People of all walks of life took it to their official Instagram accounts to express how saddened they were following the outbreak of the sad news bearing in mind that he was among the key figures in football circles in the country.
The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) through their Instagram page said the federation’s president Wallace Karia was shocked with the demise of Hans Poppe who until his death was a member of its Players’ and Status Committee.
TFF said Hans Poppe will be remembered for his immense contribution towards development of football during his leadership era.
Simba Chairman of the Board Mohammed Dewji wrote: “My heart is in pain and broken. It is still hard to accept that our board member Zacharia Hans Poppe is no longer with us.
“My brother I have worked with you for many years and each day, you put Simba’s interests first. My brother, you were kind in a special way. You were straight forward when it came to defending Simba not because of your own interests,” said part of his condolence message.
On her instagram page, Simba Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Barbara Gonzalez wrote: “Today my heart is heavy. May the Lord Almighty rest your beautiful soul in eternal peace. God’s will be done.”
Also, Young Africans Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senzo Mazingiza expressed his sorrow through his instagram account where he wrote: ” A loss to the footballing community of Tanzania, Hans Pope, may your soul rest in peace.
“In good and bad times, you remain yourself and it was always a pleasure to work with you. Through you and in a short space of time, I managed to understand the lay of the land in football bongo. Thank you for the memories, Pumzika Mzee.”
Again, taking his time to pay tribute to the fallen hero was the Director of Information Services and Chief Government Spokesperson Gerson Msigwa who wrote: “I am saddened by the death of Zacharia Hans Poppe.
“We have lost a very important sports stakeholder in our country who wanted to see Tanzania accommodating international football standards.
He then extended condolences to his family, management of Simba, players, fans and members of Simba as well as all those touched by his death.
“The last time we communicated through chatting when I knew his progress from the disease he was suffering. He responded while on the oxygen machine saying ‘this disease is very scary’ and later, he insisted on people to continue taking precaution measures.” Msigwa wrote.
Clubs like Simba, Yanga and Azam represented others to convey condolence messages to Hans Poppe family and all the concerned parties during this tough period facing the football community.
