by Ba Muzo

Around Midday, yesterday, 16 years ago, I went to the Masiye Motels Lodge on Great North Road in Emmasdale Area, Lusaka.

When I entered the gates with a cousin from the village, as a 15 year old teenager, I approached a group of the finest collection of footballers Zambia has ever assembled with the nonchalance of one who was at home. But by any standards, I was in the illustrious company of distinguished Zambian individuals.

My cousin, younger than I by 2 years, was overawed.

Enthused he beamed in Lamba  ‘’Kanshi aba bola efyo bamoneka efi” (Translated as ‘Is this the way footballers appear like’).

I responded enthusiastically like the great footballers were my peers. After all, I had been a ball boy for some Red Arrows home games at Independence Stadium where I had seen most of them up close.

Not withstanding my years, I had never missed any Zambia game from my conception to that age. (My late mom used to tell me that she used to go to Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium when she was pregnant with me to see Zambia play with my dad.)

And I knew some of the players like Numba Mwila personally from my Ndola days when his former team Ndola United had trained near Ndola Wanderers training ground where I  ‘trained’ with the then Andre Mtine (now Technical Advisor at Zesco Utd) Premier League promotion side  players as a toddler goalkeeper before their main training sessions.

Basically, where ever the Zambia footballers relaxed, trained or played; whether at club or national level, I was there.  I operated like a freelance journalist. But I reported to no one.  Football was my chamber mate.

I also played it as a goalkeeper for  Matero Boys Secondary School during Grade 8 and 9  alongside Dickson ‘Lusha’ Chanda Mwape who later turned out for Zambia. This  was at the time the likes of Shy Kumwenda and Dabwitso Nkhoma featured for Munali Secondary School and the likes of Perry ‘The Principal’ Mutapa, Alex Namazaba and Aliford Mapataki who all had stints with Zambia played for Chongwe Boys Secondary School. So for me football was everything.

Explains why I caught up with the Zambia national soccer team at the Masiye Motels Lodge that day.

The team had just massacred Mauritius 3-0 away in a USA 1994 qualifier and was waiting to fly to Senegal to fulfill a World Cup fixture for what was increasingly looking like a journey to the maiden appearance at World Cup finals for this country.

 

Naturally, it was Numba that I approached. He was in the company of John Soko and Kelvin Mutale.

‘’Bakalamba, tamulaya’’(Bigman, Havn’t you left yet?) I quizzed him in Bemba after the usual pleasantries that included kudos for the smart island job just a few days before.

‘’Awe, icindeke chili na problem’’ (Not yet, the plane has a problem) Numba responded.

The team had been scheduled to leave around 11 00 hours but had been delayed.

I went on to ask Kelvin whether he would replicate the form that saw him help himself to a hat trick at the Anjalay Stadium in Port Louis. He laughed and told me he would see. What a humble gentleman, he was, Kelvin.

 

On that day, I also saw Efford Chabala who was adorned in a black leather jacket and matching shades and Richard Mwanza. As well as the coaches Uccar Godfrey Chitalu and Alex Chola who sat in the sun under a big umbrella opposite the entrance at Masiye Motels Lodge.

These were the last hours for these chivalrous men on Zambian soil let alone on earth and I was privileged to have been with them.

 

At the time, little did I know that I had gone to bid farewell to my beloved heroes.

As I write I cannot still fathom the fateful events that were to unfold later that night. Those events still chill my heart today.

I woke up the following day –like today 28^th April – around 09 00 hours to be greeted by the news that the  De Havvilland Canada DHC-5D Zambia Airforce Buffalo plane AF 319 carrying the Zambia national team had crashed off the coast of Gabon plunging in the Atlantic Ocean killing all 30 people aboard.

Beards of sweat and tears found confluence in my mouth. My heart beat very fast like one who had been caught in the act. Oh! It couldn’t possibly be true.

‘’There surely must have been some mistake with the news,’’  I reasoned within myself.

I waited for news to confirm as false what everybody by now was embracing as the reality.

The Zambia national soccer team was no more it emerged later in the evening as shocking images of the wreckage of the plane and charred bodies strewn at sea were shown on television.

 

The picture unfolded that the plane which had its first flight in 1975 had not flown from 21^st December, 1992 to April 21 1993 and so test flights had been undertaken on 22^nd and 26^th April, 1993 to ascertain its suitability to fly. The checks carried out on April 26 revealed certain defects such as carbon particles in the engine and in the speed decreaser ,gearbox, oil filters, disconnected or unbridled cables and trace of heating.

The Buffalo plane which departed Lusaka in the afternoon for Dakar was penciled in for stops at Brazzaville, Libreville and Abidjan. After refuelling at Libreville, the aircraft took-off at 22:44 hours. This was one hour and 45 minutes late.

Shortly afterwards the left engine failed. The plane headed out over sea and lost altitude until it struck the water 500m offshore.

A Gabonese Ministry of Defence inquiry report suggested that the pilot shut down the wrong engine (the remaining right-engine) causing the plane to lose all power and crash. The report, released in November 2003, also said that the pilot was tired, having just flown back from Mauritius the previous day.

However, apart from a statement from then Vice- President Nevers Mumba in parliament in 2003 which more or less was congruent with the above preliminary findings of facts as they are known at this juncture, no official conclusive report on the cause of the accident has been released here in Zambia.

 

The Zambia national soccer team was no more.

The Holy Scriptures in Ecclesiastes teach that there is a time for everything. Time to weep. Time to rejoice. Time to be born. Time to die.

But the  death of the cream of Zambian football was untimely.

 

Allow me, too, to reminisce on how I saw those players Zambia will never have.

‘Efford’ David Chabala-One of the best Zambia goalkeepers ever. An excellent shot stopper who also played as a center forward at times for Mighty Mufulira Wanderers. He was a master of the brilliant saves. Efford had the safest pair of hands in his generation.The balls stuck to his hands like they were glued.

The only known Zambian player to have had a professional stint with the renowned Boca Juniors of Argentina. For a goalkeeper that was a feat. Chabala was agile and made many a daring saves. He was the last man of the Zambia defence; impregnable! His only perceived weakness if one could call it as such was failure to play under floodlights it was claimed.

The most I remember about him was the penalty he stopped in Ghana en route to the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul South Korea where Zambia tore the form book and bamboozled the then fancied 1982 World Champions, Italy 4-0. (The strength of that Italian side must be measured by the fact they went on to reach the final regardless and lost 3-0 at the hands of Germany who eliminated Zambia). Chabala made the Zambia number one jersey a personal to holder item at the Olympic games.

John Soko-The lanky Kalulushi Modern Stars groomed defender was a hard man on the right of the Zambia defence in spite of being of slender stature. Soko would man mark Ronaldo or Messi out of the game if he played today. He was a man marker and never one to lose his man or let the ball pass through. Hence some fans nicknamed him ‘‘Barbed wire”.

The game I remember him most was the World Cup qualifier on 22^nd January 1989, at Independence Stadium against Zaire which Zambia won 4-2. When Soko was introduced by legendary soccer commentator Dennis Liwewe as the ‘new find’ from Kalulushi Modern Stars, fans asked ‘John who?’ but at the end of the game he was the talk of town. He had a blinder of a game on his competitive ‘Slaughter House’ debut.

Whiteson Changwe-An elegant left sided defender who would always put in   hard tackles. He loved going forward but was getting slower with time when tracking back especially late in his Zambia career. But he was so good that it was difficult to leave him out of the side. Unfortunately, I remember him for breaking Alex  Chola’s leg on the latter’s come back from a long injury lay off game for Power Dynamos in the then Colgate Champion of Champions final 3-2 defeat of Kabwe Warriors in 1990. Pardon me this is because of my Power allegiances.

Nonetheless, Changwe was a dead ball specialist scoring many goals from the spot for Warriors. When Zambia mauled Swaziland 5-0 in an AFCON 1990 qualifier, Changwe was one of the scorers at Independence Stadium.

 

Robert Watyakeni-The Power Dynamos elegant and gangling defender was a relevation at the heart of the Zambia defence on his home debut in 1993 (He had started in the midfield holding role against Abedi Pele’s Ghana at Senegal 1992 after coming on as a late substitute for Ashois Melu in the previous game against Egypt) in an AFCON qualifier at Independence against the Uncle BOB Boys of Zimbabwe, Watyakeni shackled the then feared England based Coventry City striker Peter Ndhlovu to a cameo contribution in a game that ended scoreless. Watyakeni gave a joint man-of-the match performance with Johnson Bwalya on the day.

Zimbabwe under the German Reinhard Fabisch rarely mustered any shots on goal due to the telepathic understanding between Watyakeni and his central defensive partner Estone Mulenga. Watyakeni defended resolutely as if his life depended on it. From then ‘ROBBO COP’ as we then as kids called him was to be a permanent fixture in the Zambia centre of defence in a  short lived international career.

Watyakeni was an excellent reader of the game, a clean tackler and a good header of the ball. I still remember him fondly for his headed goal at Independence Stadium in Power Dynamos Africa Cup Winners Cup 3-1 defeat of Benue Cement Company Lions of Nigeria in 1991. It was a peach of a header.

Estone Mulenga-The Konkola Blades groomed classy central defender who also played for Green Buffaloes and later Nkana Football club was the stalwart of any central defensive combination he played in. Whether he partnered the late Ashious Melu, Sameul Chomba or later Watyakeni, Mulenga’s brilliance always shorn through. The only Zambia defender no one would beat in one on one situations. What a neat tackler Estone was!

Many a Zambia faithful fondly referred to him as ‘King Yellowman’ due to his very light skin colour and majestic defensive displays for Zambia. He, indeed, was the king of any defence he played in.

Estone was simply in a class of his own. He had no equals. To single out any game that he was particularly understanding would be as difficult as numbering the grains of sand on the sea shore! This was no average player, folks. Most games he played for Zambia to me he was outstanding. He simply never put a foot wrong in my memory.

Derby Makinka- was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the long range shots. The best I remember him for was the late pile driver he expertly executed against Tunisia at Independence for Zambia to come away with a solitary goal victory.

In this World Cup qualifier at Independence Stadium in 1989, Kalusha, Zambia’s most dependable payer, was tightly marked out of the game by a Tunisia right defender, Hachemi Ouahchi to a hushed packed stadium. Minutes drifted away. A scoreless draw was in sight. There came the saviour in Derby. That 73^rd minute scorcher that sunk Tunisia will always remain etched in my mind. Even as I write am replaying that fantastic goal.

Makinka epitomized loyalty rarely seen in club football in Zambia or elsewhere. For a star that he was, he still remained with his beloved Profund Warriors when they were relegated from the top flight into the second tier of club football in Zambia.

He was an unparalleled defensive midfielder with a knack for the long range effort when he sighted goal.

 

Timothy Mwitwa- Some people called him ‘Teacher Timo’. Some ‘Tiger’. And yet some ‘Computer’. All these names were befitting. This dribbling wing wizard with sublime skills would take any defender  to the cleaners on his day.

 

Ask Red Arrows. 6-1 B.P final. What about Konkola Blades 7-0 in the Mosi Cup final? The master mind was Mwitwa. Madagascar can attest to the industry of Timothy. He dribbled them inside and out in Zambia’s 3-1 Cup qualifier triumph in February,1993, at Lusaka’s Independence Stadium.

 

 Mwitwa scored one and created one for Kalu to nod in at the far post in the southern goal post from a Mwitwa cross from the right on the western side of the stadium in front of  the grandstand open wing. The only time I saw Kalusha score with a header for Zambia at the ‘slaughter house’. The other scorer in this game was Kelvin Mutale.

But who would forget the time Mwitwa got Zambia out of jail in South Africa in 1992 at Soccer City.

 

Bafana Bafana had just been readmitted to international football and had been on the receiving end- heavily at the hands of Uncle Bob Boys in their previous game AFCON qualifier. Zambia was expected to blow them away.

 

But alas the Stanely Tshabalala tutored side captained by Neil Tovey boosting the likes of Augustine Makalakalane, Phil Masinga, Marks Maponyane Theophilus ‘Doctor’ Khumalo and others looked like they would hold out for a famous draw against the ‘Mighty’ Zambia in a game carried live both on radio and television in Zambia.

I, like the rest of Zambia, was gripped with anxiety.  Winning this game was supposed to be like second nature to us. But boy, victory was hard in coming. The vocal South Africans with their Vuvuzelas were already celebrating a draw on the terraces.  72nd minute. Then came Timothy to the rescue.

It sent Dennis Liwewe into a delirium in the commentary box

‘It had to come. It had to come! From the foot of a (sic) Timothy Mwitwa’’.

0-1, Zambia, it ended.

 

I had been watching images on television and listening to radio commentaries. Those days we would watch television pictures, switch off the telly volume and listen to Liwewe on radio (nowadays, I switch off both radio and television volume when watching the Chipolopolo Boys’ live broadcast matches!).

 

Godfrey Kangwa-This was a midfield maestro. Kangwa, my only regret, was that we recognized his potency very late. Zambia always struggled in the engine in the absence of Charles Musonda. But Godfrey emerged to seriously stake his claim for the number 8 shirt for Zambia.

I remember him most for his perfect Kabwe Warriors performances. He single handedly nearly destroyed Nacional of Egypt in a high scoring Africa Club Champions Cup third round match in Morocco which Warriors lost 3-4. So good was his fetch and carry antics on the night that the Moroccans later swooped for him. 

 

Kangwa was the tomentor-in-chief in midfield when Zambia annihilated Mauritius 3-0 in that last game prior to the crash.

 

Kelvin ‘Malaza’ Mutale-the Naboye Boys Secondary School product who later turned out for Zambia’s foremost glamour side Nkana Football Club rose to cult status over night.

During his Kafue days he was nicknamed ‘Malaza’ for his perchance reputation for rescuing matches from the fire with late goals. He never scored late goals for Zambia but he did knock in a few!

Malaza served notice on the Zambia soccer scene with a hat trick in a CECAFA first round match at the CCM Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza, Tanzania where Zambia made mince meat of Zanzibar 8-0 in 1992. Patrick ‘Bomber’ Banda and Makinka shared a brace each in this match and an own goal by the jittery Islanders completed the rout.

 

Mutale also contributed a brace in Zambia’s 4-0 defeat of Namibia at Independence Stadium in Windhoek in a World Cup qualifier in 1992.

 Malaza was fast turning into a goal machine for Zambia. His work and strike rate was phenomenal. Nobody will ever forget that hat trick he conjured against Mauritius.

I am convinced he was also going to find the net in Senegal. But those like you know, that is now just my conjecture. Had Kelvin been here it would have been reality. Malaza was born to score goals.

I remember him scoring a hat trick that led to Efford Chabala being substituted in a B.P Cup final for Peter Chilufya that year. Wanderers lost 2-3 to Nkana after taking a 2-0 led only for Malaza to win it for Nkana. Rarely was Chabala embarrassed like that. But with Kelvin Mutale there was no respect of reputations.

 

Wisdom Chansa-captained the all conquering Power Dynamos team that retain the single honour of being the only Zambian football club side to have lifted a continental crown. He climbed the rostrum at Independence Stadium to hoist the coveted Mandela Cup trophy in the tournament now rechristened CAF Confederations Cup.   At Independence, when ever he touched the ball the crowd roared: WIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!! 

 

Chansa is a Zambia legend. The attacking midfielder cum striker had a high work rate and scored some scintillating goals for Zambia. Zambians loved him to bits. I remember him most for the goal he scored against the Black Stars of Ghana in the Seoul 1988 qualifier at Independence Stadium.

At the time of his death he had just signed for a South African club as a professional. But before he became a foreign based player he was fondly referred to as a ‘professional’ based at home. Wisdom Chansa was one of those locally based players whose performance you could not tell apart from the foreign based players.

 

Numba Mwila-he was the most famous of the 3 Numba brothers that played club football in Zambia. The other 2 being Mukuka and Mumamba who also donned the Zambia jersey and was late last season in charge of ZANACO before the bankers prized away former ZESCO UTD mentor Wedson ‘Wadda’ Nyirenda from Trade Fairs Ground to Sunset Stadium. This pint-sized winger with the nibble foot was simply magic.

His blistering pace and dribbling wizardry remains unsurpassed in Zambian football circles. I remember him most in the 1993 World Cup qualifier at Independence Stadium when he tore the entire Namibia defence to shreds. Albeit not being on the score sheet, Numba was one of the star performers on the day.

He was often referred to as the ‘small man with a big football brain’.

 

Richard Mwanza-was Zambia’s number two for a long time. The cool net minder from the once Magnificent Kabwe Warriors always did his part when called upon. The enigma in modern football is how a goalkeeper who is a long time under study performs when called upon at short notice without game time under his belt. Richard never showed any jitters when called upon. Of course, the fans would be very cautious when Richard played. But he always calmed the stormy waters.

He was Zambia’s custodian in Mwanza when Zambia defeated Tanzania 3-1 in a 1993 World Cup qualifier. Although he did not keep a clean sheet, he acquainted himself very well. At Independence Stadium, he kept a clean sheet in that 4-0 bashing of Namibia.

 

Patrick ‘Bomber’ Banda-The mercurial Profund Warriors midfield genius was slowly carving out his name for Zambia in the absence of Charles Musonda of Belgian giants Anderlecht. Before the World Cup, qualifier against Tanzania on 11th October, 1992, Zambia was dogged by the injury to talismanic play maker Musonda prompting many to question the team’s ability to snatch a victory. Victory at Independence Stadium was non-negotiable.

Kalusha, who many said never sparkled in the absence of Musonda, was asked on arrival from his base in Holland on the prospect of Zambia winning the match without his former Circle Brugge and Mufulira Wanderers team mate remarked:

 

‘’ I hear there is this ‘Bomber’ guy and I look forward to linking with him because from what I hear he is quite good’’.

 

Banda’s fame had gone abroad. Kalusha’s words were not minced. Patrick gave a man of the match performance. He weaved through the Tanzanian defence with a verve that belied his lack of experience in the big time matches. He had a hand in the two goals Zambia harvested on the day courtesy of the Great Kalu and Malaza. He also gave a good account of himself in the 4-0 bashing of Namibia away in Windhoek.

 

In him was the representation of a Zambia squad of players who were ever ready to be thrown in the fray at any time.

 

Sameul Chomba-a tough but calm defender who lost out to Watyakeni in the centre of the Zambia defence. Chomba ‘Malaila’ as the blue and white faithful from Railways Ground fondly called him was a faithful servant. He sometimes would be shunted in the defensive midfield role and would slot in with aplomb.

Chomba impressed in the Senegal 1992 AFCON where Zambia was eliminated in the quarter finals by Ivory Coast after they lost 1-0 in extra time. Particularly in the first game against Egypt, the central defensive pairing of Chomba and Mulenga held their own against the feared Pharaohs marauding duo of Hossam Hassam and Ahmed  El Kass.

 

Chomba’s stoical defending helped Zambia win the tie 1-0 through a Kalusha Bwalya 61st minute strike. He was a member of that famous Seoul Olympics squad.

 

Kenan Simambe- the rather stocky Power Dynamos forward was another talent that was in the Zambia refinery. But at Arthur Davies Stadium, Simambe was a household name. Coming through the ranks from the junior Zambia teams where he excelled, Simambe was destined for a bright Zambia career. He demonstrated his huge potential in scoring on his debut at Independence Stadium in the 4-0 annihilation of Namibia when he came on as a substitute for Moses Chikwalakwala.

 

Moses Chikwalakwala- a rising wing terror. The fact that he came from unheralded Chambishi Blackburn when he was first capped for Zambia speaks volume of his ability. Moses was a master of the twist and turns. An excellent crosser of the ball with both feet, he ceased to impress whenever he played. Moses gave the Tanzanian defence a torrid time with his pace and trickery in that 2-0 defeat at Independence in that 1994 World Cup qualifier. He also impressed in the reverse in Mwanza.

 

Moses Masuwa-The Kabwe Warriors striker was a forceful marksman who demonstrated his lethal eye for goal in that irresistible 3-4 away defeat to Widad Casablanca. I don’t remember seeing Masuwa in the Zambia shirt but his ‘Njanji ni Njanji’ outfit performances convinced everyone he was a real, real prospect. A gem in the squad waiting to be unwrapped.

 

Wynter Mumba-an intelligent left defender who was being groomed to wrestle the left back berth from Changwe. Wynter had a sweet left foot and was very solid. Another member of the Power Dyanmos Mandela Cup winning side who was chomping at the bit to play for Zambia. His was only a matter of time before he could he could capped for Zambia. He looked good to the eye going forward and was a good crosser of the ball.

But time, Wynter, was never afforded so I remember him for his Power Dynamos showings.

 

The Coaches-Uccar Godfrey Chitalu-I never watched him play but the legendary goal scorer according to folklore, is Zambia’s record goal scorer netting 107 times in one season. The former Kitwe Utd and Kabwe Warriors man was an astute tactician whose Zambia side played a rare brand of attacking football. Chitalu replaced another Zambia legend the late Sameul ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu who was sacked after Zambia lost 2-0 away in Antananarivo to Madagascar in late 1992. He mastered minded Zambia’s resurgence from then on with performances that left pundits purring with satisfaction. There was a general feeling everywhere that his Zambia squad was going to the 1994 World Cup and win the Africa Cup of Nations.

 

Alex Chola-the 1982 AFCON best winger alongside Peter Kaumba. He was a cut above the rest in his generation. The only time I saw him play was in that fateful come back from injury game when he was felled by Changwe for him to hung his boots. Was an able assistant who had proved his worth by being part of the backroom staff in the Power Dynamos much publicized Mandela Cup winning season.

 

FAZ Chairman -Michael Chiti- man of few words but full of action.

 

There was also on that fateful plane Zambia Daily Mail staffer Joseph Salim-journalists normally don’t get accolades for the job they do. I salute him. Team doctor Wilson Mtonga also perished in that disaster.

 

Others included the ZAF crew and FAZ officials among them Wilson Sakala and Nelson Zimba.

 

May the souls of the departed heroes, my heroes, rest in peace.

 

These gallant guys were a symbol of national honour and pride. To commemorate their lives with a government, FAZ and business community sponsored international match every year whose proceeds would go to the bereaved families would not be too much to ask. Would it?

I am a fully grown man now but the memories of the perished heroes always bring tears to mine eyes.

Lord Jesus bless them, I cry. Lord Jesus bless their families, I cry. Lord Jesus Bless the Republic of Zambia, I cry.

 

 

Sponsored & Recommended Links

Pass4sure ccsp ccvp cisa cissp crm certification db2 certification itil certification hp certification icnd

Comments Closed

Latest Headlines

• Big Interview: Kalaba says ‘so far, we are on course’
• Breaking News: Unchanged Chipolopolo to face Sudan
• Renard won’t tinker
• Sudan coach shocked by Sakuwaha’s no-show
• Morale boosting promotion for Katongo
• Renard: It’s the most important game of my career
• Tsunami sets eyes on semis ahead of Sudan clash
• Sudan coach ‘Mazda’ wary of Chipolopolo threat
• Blog: Chipolopolo can dream again
• Nathan Sinkala singled out as one of the (new face) stars of the group stages by FIFA.com