While the larger part of the country went about their routine business, a sizeable crowd trooped to Heroes Acre to commemorate the 23rd Gabon Memorial disaster behind Independence Stadium.
Understandably 23 years may be a long time to mourn, but the crowd that turned at Heroes Acre in memory of the 30 members that comprised 18 players, FAZ officials, a journalist and aeroplane crew were not gathered to mourn as has now become traditional. It was an event to celebrate the lives of the fallen heroes, who paid the ultimate price for their country as the buffalo plane plunged into the Indian Ocean on April, 28 1993.
Stories abound as to what really transpired but there can be no laying the matter until the report which the families have never tired from demanding in 23 years is released. Not surprising that question was still high on the lips of the families and probably in the same token Sports Minister Vincent Mwale was as elusive as his predecessors on the matter.
“I think that we hope one day there is going to be some closure. Closure should not just be about releasing the report, but there should just be some closure whichever way, that all of us must agree to close the matter on,” Mwale told journalists.
“What is important at the moment is to celebrate what these heroes achieved.” That probably tells us that the page on the report is far from closure.
And late Efford Chabala’s wife Joyce who has been an ever-present crusader for the last 23 years in the call for the report to be released was all the more louder on this occasion.
“Life has been traumatizing because there is no way you can live that long without knowing what caused the death of our loved ones,” Chabala said.
“It pains us much even up to now. That is why we want the report; maybe we will know what happened. I am just worried because at one point we were told that it is a state secret.”
She added: “That has brought more worries because there is no way if one dies then it becomes a secret. Everything has to come out because everybody knows that those people are dead. So everything has to come out. We have to be told there is no need for government to keep it a secret. If it has to be a secret it will be fair for the government to call the family members and tell us what really transpired.”
Chabala delivered a more stinging punch: “For them to say it is a state secret it seems more painful than the death itself.”
Anyone who has made annual pilgrimage for the memorial may have had observed a lot more improved organization with SuperSport and Zambian Breweries jumping on board to help organize the event. A little tap into the corporate bowl the families ferried from the Copperbelt and also had lunch within the premises something that FAZ president Andrew Kamanga promised to build on.
“Going forward government has talked about a lot of initiatives, they are talking about setting up a sports museum within the big stadium right behind us (Heroes Stadium),”Kamanga said.
“So we will be able to see if we can talk to the families if it will be possible for them to give us some items which will be possible to put into the museum so that we continue remembering these heroes in a slightly different way.”
He added: “So the museum will be the official government sports museum but as FAZ we are also looking at possibilities of setting up our own area where we can record all the events which have taken place since FAZ was formed.”
Government has said that the event will be commemorated under their wing every five years.
The team perished off the coast of Gabon enroute to fulfilling a World Cup qualifying fixture against Senegal in Dakar.
All members on board died depriving the country one of its finest football talents.
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