By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (February 7^th 2012)

(Updated April 26^th 2020 and April 27^th 2021)

The Irreplaceable Loss

Tomorrow afternoon Henan Construction FC’s Zambian striker, Christopher Katongo, will lead his team out in Bata as underdogs against the Black Stars of Ghana. It is the first time that Zambia has a realistic chance of success in the African Cup of Nations since their unlikely campaign in 1994 – one that was robbed by a preventable disaster of possibly the greatest ever Zambian team.

On April 27^th 1993 that talented Zambian team set out for a Cup of Nations qualifier against Sénégal. Sadly, they never arrived in Dakar. Eighteen players lost their lives, including former Zambian Sports Personality of the Year, David Efford Chabala. He had been his country’s first choice goal-keeper for the last decade of his life and has a claim to be Zambia’s most-capped player – a claim also made by Kalusha Bwalya and their manager Godfrey Chitalu.

Just 45 years old, Chitalu had a storied career as a player. He is the top African goal-scorer in international football with 79 goals. He scored a remarkable 107 goals during the 1972 Zambian season – more in the calendar year. Chitalu’s record for the calendar year is really 116 as Lesotho’s then champions, Majantja, can verify.

Majantja held Zambia’s Kabwe Warriors 2-2 on January 23^rd 1972 – Chitalu had scored both of the Zambian champions’ goals in the first leg. Two weeks later, the now destroyed Dag Hammerskjöld Stadium in Ndola, witnessed a masterclass in finishing.

Chitalu destroyed Majantja, scoring a still Africa Champions’ trophy record seven goals in the 9-0 drubbing the champions of Lesotho endured.

Majantja’s goalkeeper, Lebohang Nteko, verified Chitalu’s achievement and confirmed that Chitalu was the best striker that he ever faced. Although Chitalu is remembered largely for his records, including the seven, Nteko and other former Lesotho internationals remember him for a special goal – his second in the match in Maseru. Chitalu scored from near the halfway line.[1]  

Chitalu had only just taken over as Coach of Zambia’s national team – already results suggested that achievement was in sight. He was only starting out on a new career full of promise when his life and that of the team he was building was cruelly cut short.

Saved

Kalusha ‘Great Kalu’ Bwalya – undoubtedly one of the greatest players Zambia ever produced – played for PSV Eindhoven at the time. He was due to fly to Dakar from the Netherlands and meet his teammates there. It saved his life. Anderlecht’s Charles ‘Charlie Cool’ Musonda was injured and did not fly. Johnson Bwalya was another who did not fly. They were the lucky ones.

Perhaps the luckiest of all was Andrew Tembo – he would go on to become one of Zambia’s great exports to Europe, distinguishing himself in Danish football. Tembo was on the standby list. He was due to fly, but at the last minute word came that the players in Europe would meet the squad in Dakar.

Disappointed he returned home, but his family were unaware of that when news of the disaster broke. People gathered at his parents’ home to mourn his loss. He had to go there to reassure his parents – this was before mobile phones and social media.

Musonda, deeply affected by the crash was never the same player again.

Unfit to Travel

A plane that was unfit for travel was allowed to carry the hopes of a nation and lost them all. They had reservations about that plane, but allowed the love of their country and desire to play for the Zambia to persuade them to take the flight.

Midfielder Wisdom Chansa and defenders Samuel Chomba and Robert Watiyakeni played in South Africa, while Saudi Arabian football had secured the services of talented forwards Kelvin Mutale and Moses Masuwa. Mutale had scored a hat-trick for his country just three days earlier. Midfielder Godfrey Kangwa played in Morocco’s top league.

The other players who lost their lives were goal-keeper Richard Mwanza, defenders Whiteson Changwe, Winter Mumba, KenamSimambe and John Somo, midfielders Moses Chikwalakwala, Derby Makina, Eston Mulenga and Numba Mwila and the forwards Patrick Banda and Timothy Mwitma.

Zambia’s tragic loss was not confined to players. Journalists and coaching staff also died, as did the plane’s crew and pilot. Chitalu was one of Zambia’s greatest players and he was busy proving the myth that great players can’t coach false. Chitalu was just 45. His assistant Alex Chola also had a distinguished playing career before moving into coaching. The then President of the Zambian FA, Michael Mwape, was also lost in the crash.

The Disaster

Former Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda, loved and invested in football, but the economy stagnated and 1988 was both a great success and disaster for Zambian football. Their performance in the Olympics won admirers – it could hardly fail. Bwalya, scored a hat-trick in the 4-0 demolition of a good Italy side, but the economic down-turn had a heavy price. Zambia was due to host the African Cup of Nations that year but had to pull out – it could not afford it.

They missed out on the World Cup and Kaunda was voted out of office after 27 years in 1991. The new President Frederick Chiluba failed to arrest the economic slide. A terrible consequence was that to save resources a plane that had was not flight-worthy was drummed into service.

The Zambian FA had to cut costs, so it chose not to use the more expensive but safer Zambian airlines, but an air-force Buffalo DHC-5D that had not flown since December 1992. The plane was unfit to fly.

It stopped in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, but should never have been allowed to leave there as faults were noticed. Instead, it was decided that it should fly on to Libreville in Gabon for repairs, before refueling in Abidjan and finally on to Dakar.

In addition to that the pilot Captain Fenton Mhone was tired – required to fly a great distance without sufficient rest. Repairs were conducted at Libreville, but shortly after departing the plane had further problems. An engine caught fire and the pilot mistakenly switched off power to the wrong engine. It plunged into the Atlantic Ocean killing everyone on board. This was a shamefully preventable tragedy.

The Betrayal

No expense was spared to return the bodies of the lost generation to Zambia for burial. If only they had been treated with such courtesy while alive that talented team would have had the opportunity to prove themselves to be one of Africa’s finest teams.

They were given a state funeral at Lusaka’s Independence Stadium and lavish promises were made to the bereaved. They were promised that the education of their children would be paid for by the Zambian state and that they would be given answers about why the crash happened.

Eight governments have come since the Crash, but they are still waiting for answers.

An inquiry by the Gabon Defence Ministry and a Zambian one blamed pilot error for switching off the wrong engine, but the fact that the other engine was plainly unfit to use escaped mention.

The full Zambian report that had been promised to the victims’ family was never made public. A promise that an annual commemoration would be paid for and held by the state was also cynically broken.

Almost nineteen years later (now twenty-seven) the full truth about the final moments of the lost generation of Zambian football has yet to emerge. Their relatives are still denied justice even though Chiluba was later accused of monumental corruption. He was eventually acquitted. He died in June 2011.

None of the probes of Chiluba’s activities investigated the broken promises to the families of the lost generation of Zambian football.

The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) and football itself should ensure that not only are they remembered as Gabon’s shared African Cup of Nations draws to a close, but that broken promises are belatedly kept.

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[1] Chitalu’s exploits in the two matches against Majantja will be detailed in future articles.