I Took It As Gospel - Henry Olonga Issues Apology Over His Message Of Heath Streak’s Fake Death

Former Zimbabwe cricketer Henry Olonga apologized for circulating rumors about Heath Streak’s death. He said that he took it as a gospel and was very sad about what happened.

The entire cricketing fraternity got fooled and expressed their disbelief after the news came out that former Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak was no more. The main culprit behind that was Henry Olonga as it was he, who informed everyone about his death.

Henry Olongo’s post saw almost every current and former cricketer express their condolence over his sad demise. He said that the greatest all-rounder passed away. He put an emotional message, saying that he’ll see him on the other side when his bowling spell ends. He had said:

“Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP @ZimCricketv legend. The greatest all rounder we produced. It was a pleasure playing with you. See you on the other side when my bowling spell comes to an end..”

However, after some time Henry Olonga deleted that post and later confirmed that he had chatted with Heath Streak revealing that he was doing well and very much alive. Following that he received a lot of flak and even many cricketers highlighted his name that they were taken away by his post.

Henry Olonga now has apologized for his antics and mentioned that it was a miscommunication and he too heard about the story on social media. He added that even texted Heath Streak and his wife but they didn’t respond and after confirmation from some colleagues, he was convinced. Taking to his Facebook, he explained:

“In any case, I was informed that Heath had taken a turn for the worse. We were encouraged to write kind words for his eulogy. So it appeared imminent. I will not go into too much detail about how the miscommunication occurred but rest assured I heard the story first on Facebook like everyone else. I did immediately text Heath and Nadine to verify.

“It was a while before they could respond as it was late at night. I texted a few close cricket colleagues who know the family well and they confirmed it was true. I did ask pointed questions to verify but they were convinced. After all I had only heard from Heath the day before so it seemed kind of sudden. But I truly was devastated as I genuinely believed he was gone. And all the emotion I felt I am sure those who encountered the story felt it too.”

Obviously, I am extremely sorry that I took it as gospel – Henry Olonga

Henry Olonga said that he was extremely sorry and after talking to some colleagues he paid his tribute by posting a message. He revealed that after a few hours, he received a text from Heath Streak, who told him to reverse the decision. He added:

“Obviously I am extremely sorry that I took it as gospel. I then placed my own tributes which seemed to gather a lot of traction (amongst many tributes out there) only to get a text from Heath a few hours later in which he asked me to reverse the decision. (He has always had a great sense of humour).”

“I then had to backtrack and attempt to fix the error that unfortunately had gone global. But how can it get fixed easily in this day and age? So I retracted as best I could. I of course profusely apologised to the Streaks after the clanger. They did not need this.”

“In any case, I hope you understand the context now and again appreciate your forgiveness for my part in this unfortunate affair. I am very sad about it. It was extremely heartwarming to see how much love there is out there for our champion. Perhaps a silver lining,” he concluded.