By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (August 29^th 2021)

The Last Man Standing

McLean Kabwe is the oldest survivor of Zambia’s most titled team, Mighty Mufulira Wanderers. The elegant number 5 commanded the defence for both Mufulira Mine Team, the predecessor of Maite, and also Northern Rhodesia’s black team. He never played for Zambia – his career predated Zambian independence, but McLean Kabwe is a Liberation Hero Footballer.

He played in the National Football League (NFL) before independence. Organised by the Northern Rhodesia Football Association (NRFA), Liberation Football played avital role in combatting white supremacy and colonialism. The great Ginger Pensulo sadly died in April – he should not have. Rivals at club level, Kabwe and Pensulo played together for Northern Rhodesia’s racially segregated team but also on a tour.

Copperbelt Tour

In 1959 the Copperbelt Football Association was invited to tour South Africa by the Bantu Football Association (BFA). The BFA was established in 1931. It organised the tour by black footballers from Zambia’s Copperbelt. Pensulo was the star player on that tour. He top-scored with nine goals and was dubbed ‘Magic Feet’ by impressed South Africans. He was one of the last Zambian survivors of that tour.

Another is McLean Kabwe, the oldest survivor of both Mufulira Mine Team and that tour. A commanding presence in the centre of defence Kabwe was an imperious footballer in his prime and he remains a jewel of Zambia’s football.

Needs

On my last visit to Zambia I managed to visit Kabwe at his home. I was accompanied by his niece, Mufulira Wanderers legend Elijah Mwale and two former Mufulira Wanderers players. It had been a while since I had seen him. After the visit he wanted to see us off, but it became clear that he was struggling. I asked his niece what was wrong. Apparently, a doctor had tried to fob off his problems as old age – it was clearly more serious.

His niece registered him and his wife on a government scheme called NHIMA. This was established in 2019. It is a health insurance scheme that people pay into. The National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA) runs the National Health Insurance Scheme. It is available to all Zambian citizens who are over 65 for free. That obviously applied to the 87-year-old Kabwe. Both he and his wife were taken to a NHIMA accredited hospital, the Ronald Ross, in Mufulira. He was kept in for observation and tests before being released pending a further review. All Zambian citizens over 65 are entitled to free healthcare for the rest of their lives at NHIMA accredited hospitals. Among those to benefit is Kabwe. His medical needs are now catered for. Others can and must benefit too.