Evans Mambara, A Voice That Inspired a Generation Of Domestic Football
Evans Mambara, A Voice That Inspired a Generation Of Domestic Football
By Kamangeni Phiri
It’s been 22 years, and I can still hear his husky voice. Every Sunday, the voice would boom out of thousands of radio speakers dotted around the country, keeping fans on the edge of their seats. Anxiety, passion, and excitement that always culminated in agony, pain, or joy depending on the performance of one’s team, became many a soccer fan’s weekly dose.
The architect and author of the emotional roller coaster was none other than legendary soccer commentator, the late Evans Mambara.
“This is Sunday Marimo, Mhofu they call him. Sunday to young brother Misheck … Misheck to Sunday, Sunday back to Misheck, in that orderrrr! The Marimo brothers shine hereee!! (The siblings had not changed their surnames to Chidzambwa then)”.
It was such vintage Mambara commentaries which turned the then not-so-popular radio station, Radio One, now Classic 263, into everyone’s favourite on Sundays.
We called him an incredible wordsmith who could make an audience appreciate and understand what was going on in a stadium during a soccer match.
And he was.
Soccer fans in Harare would get into Rufaro Stadium, the ceremonial home of football, carrying their little radios.
Yes, that is how good Evans was: he could make paying fans watch a soccer game while also listening to his commentary of the match at the same time.
Evans’ husky authoritative voice and undying passion of the game made fans fall in love with him.
Veteran sports journalist, Robson Sharuko, still remembers and cherishes the day when he was invited by Evans to join him in the commentary box and provide analysis for a match he was covering at Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana. Evans was commentating on a game between the Black Stars and Zimbabwe’s Warriors played on a very hot afternoon on July, 13, 1997.
“He had stripped off his shirt in those steamy conditions and he appeared to be inspired by some kind of supernatural powers, his voice booming in a way as I had never heard it before, his passion for the national team clearly evident, his emotions exploding as he provided a powerful narration of the events unfolding on that field to millions of listeners back home,” wrote the respected journalist in his weekly column, Sharuko on Saturday, in 2018.
But who is this man who redefined radio football commentary and turned listening to his voice into a Sunday ritual?
Evans Lesley Mambara was born on the 14th of September 1962 in Gutu, rural Zimbabwe. The man whose voice and art inspired a generation of domestic football was the second born in a family of five, (three girls and two boys).
He grew up in Zambia where his father, now late, was a lecturer at the University of Zambia and his mother was a nurse.
A young Evans attended Kasama Primary School in the Northern Province of Zambia before proceeding to Kalonga Secondary School in Kabwe for his high school education.
According to his young brother, Adiel Mambara based in the UK, the late Evans always wanted to be a soccer commentator from an early age.
“One day Evans and his class went on a Careers Day trip as a pupil at Kalonga Secondary School. He met his mentor and idol, legendary Zambian football Commentator, Dennis Liwewe (late), who was considered one of the best commentators in Africa. It was a dream-come-true when he met his hero. Evans became more determined to be the best football commentator ever,” said Adiel in an exclusive interview with 1Zimlegends.
The Mambara family returned to Zimbabwe in 1980 after the country attained Independence.
Evans’s father moved into the private sector and joined the then Cotton Marketing Board as a Personnel Manager while his mother joined Parirenyatwa Hospital.
Young Evans continued with his secondary education at Zimuto High School and Makumbi Mission in Masvingo.
He then enrolled at the Harare Polytechnic College where he obtained a Diploma in Journalism.
Evans was later engaged as a football commentator for three years on a freelance basis by state broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
He was a full-time employee of the Zimbabwe National Army holding the rank of second lieutenant. He worked in the army’s Public Relations department before later joining Rufaro Marketing as a PR officer. Mambara was promoted to the position of Public Relations Manager, a post he held until his untimely death in 1999.
Evans accompanied the Zimbabwe national team on numerous trips all over Africa. He also accompanied Black Rhinos on their African Safari adventure to countries like Swaziland, Zambia and Senegal.
Some of the highlights in Evans’s illustrious career include being voted the most popular football commentator in the country in February 1988. In May of the same year, Evans was invited by the Voice of Kenya to hold inspirational talks with Kenyan Football Commentators and offer guidance.
“Despite his popularity and busy schedule, Evans remained a humble and very traditional man. He loved visiting his rural home, Gutu, and would go there every six months. He was married to the late Loice Makuzva and is survived by his daughter, Tendai, who is based in the UK. The daughter is married and is a mother of one,” said Adiel Mambara.
The man had grown as a brand. Even when his then employer, ZBC, terminated his services in the mid-80s after a fall out, there was a public outcry with every major newspaper covering the story.
ZBC was forced to rescind the decision after six months and they rehired Evans.
Evans’s military background saw him develop a love for military jargon and terms which he deployed with generous abandon. Those who grew up under his dosage of commentary, like yours truly, would never forget statements like, “This is Maronga Nyangela, the Bomber they call him at the barracks. The soldiers are in control here, bombarding the Dembare goal area …
To Stanford Stix Mtizwa, lets go Stixeeee!! Stixe, to Stanley Sinyo Ndunduma, to Muzukuru, that is Hamid Dhana for you, to Simon AK Mugabe …. no relationship to the President …. the soldiers are on fire!!”
It was such commentaries that made some people to label him a Black Rhinos fan.
But his best friend, veteran journalist Moreblessing Munjoma, dismissed the allegation. He described his late friend as “a true professional and the best in the game.”
“Evie did not have a favourite club. He had a good relationship with many players from almost all clubs. Naturally he had more friends from Black Rhinos because he interacted with them on a daily basis since they were his workmates in the army. When I was employed as a journalist by the Bulawayo based daily Chronicle, Evans would insist that I personally deliver his greeting to his friends, Madinda Ndlovu and the late Willard Mashinkila Khumalo, even though he knew I rarely interacted with them,” said Munjoma.
To Evans, soccer was more than a sport; it was his passion and a way of life. Most of his friends were people linked with the sport.
Evans had a special talent of remembering names of local or foreign footballers’ with ease.
“Evans was a fast thinker who also spoke very fast. To me, he was the best radio soccer commentator to emerge out of Zimbabwe. His photographic memory and encyclopaedic knowledge of the game helped him become a top-notch soccer commentator,” said Munjoma.
Evans Mambara was a huge fan of the Warriors and his most memorable match was when our senior men’s soccer team played against Egypt in Cairo in 1983. This was his maiden trip out of Zimbabwe on national duty.
Munjoma described Mambara as a modest, friendly but shy person.
He could be a bit naughty sometimes.
“Evans was so quiet at times that nobody would notice his presence. He once went AWOL for two weeks while with the army. His father used to drop him at the KG 6 gate or in town. He would then go back to their family house in Mt Pleasant where he would remove his uniform and wear civilian clothes then come back to town. We would then go to different places in the city having funny. Evans would put on the uniform on his way to the point where his father used to pick him up,” said Munjoma.
Evans’ absconding of duty only came to an end when he was finally caught by his boss at the time, a Lieutenant Colonel Gaza, who then reported him to his father. Lt. Col Gaza, who was a close friend of Mambara Senior, said:
“Baba, tine urombo, makapiwa zita risiri renyu, Mambara, ndeuyu (pointing to Evans). (I am sorry sir that you are addressed by a name that is not yours. The naughty one is Evans).”
Evans and Munjoma were inseparable and they first met at Harare Poly in the early 80s when both were studying journalism.
Evans died aged only 38 in 1999 in the UK after a short illness and was buried at Warren Hills Cemetery in Harare.
“Evans’s favourite food was rice and sausage. His favourite drink was fanta and buns and he was also fond of chocolates and peanuts. Evans neither drank alcohol nor smoked cigarettes.,” Munjoma said.
Sadly there is not much literature on the internet chronicling the life of Evans Mambara, the man who served our beloved sport of soccer so well.
Neither are there pictures.
Mambara exists only in memory.
