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On April 27 1993, the plane carrying the Zambia national football team to Senegal for a world cup qualifying match crashed off the coast of Gabon after a refueling stop killing all thirty passengers and crew on board. Eight years later, the cause of the crash remains a closely guarded secret and the families still await compensation from the government.
Flight no. AF 309 of the Zambia Air Force bearing members of the Zambia national football team to Senegal for a World Cup qualifying match departed from the City Airport in Lusaka approximately seven hours late. They were flying in a Buffalo DHC-5D short haul transport because the cash-strapped Football Association of Zambia couldn't afford to fly the team commercially or to charter a Zambia Airways plane. It wasn't the first time the team had had to use an air force plane to cut costs. They had become accustomed to making sacrifices in the quest to bring glory to the nation. On many occasions they had played for a pittance while their opponents walked away with thousands of dollars but their motivation was always high. To play for the country was a privilege and flying the Zambian flag was incentive enough. The delay was the result of air force personnel attending to a faulty engine and the players had to find ways to wile away the time as the departure time was changed several times. They were seeking to take the football loving nation to the world cup finals scheduled for the USA for the first time ever and on current form looked every inch capable of doing so. Just three days earlier they produced a scintillating display away from home beating Mauritius 3-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier with the young striker Kelvin Mutale scoring a hattrick. On arrival from Mauritius several players expressed quiet reservations about the state of the plane but being aware of the financial position didn't make waves. The big prize was the world cup, however, and with just two days rest in Lusaka the team knew they faced a difficult tie in Senegal. Four years earlier they failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup in Italy despite boasting a formidable side, the majority who had played in the 4-0 thrashing of Italy at the Olympics but this time they were determined to go all the way. Over the last decade Zambian football had become a force to reckon with on the continent and qualification to the World Cup would be the crowning achievement of many years of preparation and hard work. Most of the players in the side played for local clubs but there were several plying their trade in other countries. Wisdom Chansa, Samuel Chomba and Robert Watiyakeni played for Dynamos in South Africa. In the three months they played there after their arrival in January they took the nondescript side to second in the league, the highest ever position in the club's history. Also in the national side were Godfrey Kangwa, playing in Morocco, and Kelvin Mutale and Moses Masuwa from Saudi Arabia. Kalusha Bwalya of PSV Eindhoven in Holland was scheduled to fly directly to Senegal for the match and so wasn't due to fly with the rest of the squad from Lusaka. Charles Musonda of Anderlecht in Belgium was out injured. The first leg of the flight took them to Congo Brazzaville where they made a first refueling stop and where problems with the engine were first noted. They then flew on to Libreville, capital of Gabon, making yet another stop. A commercial flight could do the journey in a single hop but the Buffalo being a short haul transport needed three refueling stops. According to the late Gabonese journalist Jean Fotou the plane developed further engine trouble in Libreville and more work was needed. Just before midnight the flight took off. A minute later flames emerged from one engine and the plane was clearly in trouble. Seconds later it blew up killing all twenty-five team members and five crew instantly. In that moment the hopes of a nation died alongside its heroes and a cruel blow whose effects are still being felt to this day was struck. The nation mourned and a delegation from Lusaka was hurriedly flown to Libreville to carry out preliminary investigations and to bring the bodies home. As the majestic Zambia Airways DC- 8 descended there was total silence as thousands of waiting fans and family members looked up to the sky. Suddenly a cry broke out and thousands broke down in tears as the plane touched down. Out side the airport thousands more lined the twenty-five kilometre route from the airport to the stadium where the bodies were to lie in state. At the stadium a capacity crowd of thirty thousand mourners waited and there were emotional scenes as the thirty vehicle convoy, each carrying a casket, drove in. In a bitterly cold night they maintained an overnight vigil and the following day even more flocked to pay a final tribute to the young men who had carried the hopes of the nation and lost their lives in the quest to bring glory to the country. As the bodies were lowered into the ground at a site outside the stadium an entire nation wept and the country's leaders stood side by side with the people and promised that the families of the deceased would be taken care of. Eight years on, the families are largely forgotten and none of the promises that were made then have been fulfilled. Assurances were made that the children of the deceased would have all educational expenses paid by the state until they completed their education but this has never been done. The report on the crash remains a secret despite government promises to reveal the cause of the accident and after so long the families still wait anxiously for an explanation. None is forthcoming. It is difficult to understand how the families of those who gave their lives for the nation can be treated like outcasts. Their battle for support and answers is a lonely one. The thousands who turned up to pay tribute are largely caught up in a battle for their own survival as the promises of economic revival have proved to be hollow and survival instincts have resulted in a culture of self preservation. After the first memorial service in 1993, the government withdrew its support for an official commemoration and the yearly service is now solely financed by the family members from the meagre resources at their disposal. In a desperate bid to secure some sort of future for themselves the families were driven to taking the government to court for compensation, a case they eventually won and the government were instructed to pay up. The families are still waiting more than a year later. It has been a long and agonising wait for parents, wives and children but they have shown strength and dignity in difficult circumstances. The crash tore apart many families as children were scattered around amongst relatives to share the load of supporting them through school and until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Susan Mhone, daughter of the captain of the ill-fated plane Colonel Fenton Mhone now lives in the USA and made the decision to leave Zambia in order to support the rest of the family. The death of her father was a devastating blow and she recalls that period in her life. "The accident affected our lives in many ways. The biggest setback was the empty space left in our lives when my dad died. It was a burden on our mother to suddenly have to carry on the work of a single parent with two teenagers and an adolescent to look after. We had to move to a different home leaving friends behind. I left Zambia two years after he died." James Chama, Wisdom Chansa's father played for Nkana football club for 18 years before hanging up his boots. He watched his son play in the junior ranks at Nkana before he moved across town to Power Dynamos where he established himself as the most influential player in the club's history. He captained Power Dynamos to Zambia's first ever success in the Africa Cup Winners Cup, also known as the Nelson Mandela Cup in 1991 before joining Dynamos in South Africa in 1993. The loss of his son was a blow that he is yet to recover from. 'Wisdom was a very special person who every body got on with. He was a natural leader and was very determined to succeed. His death was a big blow to the family and we'll never forget him.' In the eight-year period since the crash some of the wives and parents have since passed on and it is a tragedy that they departed without knowing the reason for the loss of their loved ones. When the team brought success, thousands basked in the glory and the Independence Stadium was a hive of joy and celebration. Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and many others all fell to the might that was once Zambia. Today the players who built that success lie buried in an incomplete burial site fenced off from the public. Maybe one day their achievements will be recognised. It is a sad testament that they aren't today.
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