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by
Garry Chirwa, 17 May 2005
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12:28:03
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Go well Uncle Dumbo
I came to know Dumbo Lemani when I was a very little boy, he was my papa’s good pal.
I knew him as a funny character since my childhood days. I remember one particular incident when he came home at Chichiri in the late 70s and found people chasing a thief who had stolen assorted items from an asian neighbour.
At that time Uncle Dumbo was team manager for Limbe Leaf Wanderers (now called MTL Wanderers), he was putting on a blue and white nomads’ T-shirt, a pair of bell-bottom jean trousers and a pair of black platform shoes.
He immediately took off his T-shirt, platform shoes and with his pot belly in the open, he joined the hunt for the thief until he personally caught him.
Wanderers had a game against Hardware Stars that particular afternoon but Uncle Dumbo missed the better part of the action as he enjoyed the fun of continously pouring cold water on the thief ‘to cast out the devil’
My father also told me a funny tale about how he and Uncle Dumbo as young men would put on dresses and sneak into Soche Hill College premises by jumping the fence to collect their fiances (my mother and Mrs Ruth Lemani) for an outing during weekends.
And about two years ago at Chileka International Airport when he returned from an official visit in Canada, he found that his official merc was no where in sight to pick him up and he instead hired a bycicle taxi and sat on the carrier and asked to be dropped home as he chewed sugarcane without giving a damn.
I will also remember him for his carefree attitude—yes! especially the time when he knelt down to clean Bakili Muluzi’s shoes with his handkerchief when the man from Kapoloma was just about to be sworn as president at Kamuzu Stadium.
It was also at Kamuzu Stadium where he would freely join nomads fans in dancing jigs of celebration after a cup final victory even though he was a cabinet minister. I will also remember him for his juicy comments which he gave to the press when he was both a football official as well as a politician. Go well Uncle Dumbo. |
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