Yona kept me posted
At around 9pm on Friday, I got a call from flamboyant soccer fan Yona Malunga informing me that he had started-off for Mangochi to attend Football Association of Malawi (FAM) elective annual general meeting. He even offered to keep me updated of the events as they unfolded.
And so at around 10am on Saturday, I got a call from Yona, saying: “Agare, ndafika koma meeting ayimika kaye. Akuti pali ena atenga ‘conjunction’ ku khoti kuti zisankhi zilephereke. Well I am sure he meant to say the AGM had been put on hold because some aspirants had obtained an injunction halting the process.
He further said: “Akuti akuganiza kuti pali zachinyengo ndipo afuna a ABC afufuze [he meant ACB]. How he was getting the information, baffled me because I learnt from a colleague that he had been barred from even getting closer to the venue of the big meet.
Nevertheless, he still lived to his word and kept me updated on the proceedings and at a time when reports were filtering in that AGM would be called off, Yona surprised me with yet another call, saying: “Akukhoti afufuta ‘conjunction’ ija, moti zisankho tapanga Walter [Nyamilandu] wawina ndi ‘landside’ [I am sure he meant to say ‘landslide’ victory.
Well, thanks for the update Yona. On a serious note, Congratulations are in order for ‘Team Walter’, hopefully this should be his last dance. Yes, you took us to 2010 Africa Cup of Nations after 26 years in the wilderness and our Under-20 chaps also qualified for the 2009 World Youth Championship.
Yes, in the recent past we have seen sanity at FAM and structures have been put in place. However, when the Flames have become so harmless that they cannot scare a church mouse—even failing get past the preliminary round of World Cup qualification—then something is terribly wrong. And when we boast of winning the losers’ Cosafa Plate and celebrate as if we have won the World Cup, then the soccer fraternity has reason to worry. Glory be to God. Uloliwe…uloliwe wayidudula hah!, neng’esiza [The train is pushing]. n
