AT some stage the Times of Zambia seems to have been the only newspaper with a rich corps of first-class journalists on its payroll, all named after the prophet Samuel who was given to God by his mother, Hannah.
Sam Kampodza, Sam Equamo, Sam Ngoma, Sam Sikazwe, Sam Phiri, and Samu Zulu – found themselves working for Zambia’s pace-setting newspaper in various capacities either on the Copperbelt or in the Midlands and Lusaka in particular.
Why did God assemble this phenomenal group of Samuels and unleash them on the same newspaper with the same mission: to go out there and write, informing, educating and entertaining all Zambians, irrespective of their colour, race, tribe or social status.
I sometimes look back to our hay day and cannot fail but wonder how God works.
Yes, indeed, who can fathom the depth of His wisdom?
However, this essay is not about the life history of the six Samuels, but a peep in the exciting life of one of them – Sam Kampodza whom I found on the Times Sports Desk when I joined the newspaper from Lusaka in February 1969. Upon my arrival in Ndola, Mr Joe Taylor, the Canadian sports editor at the time, told me during the induction that he wanted to have someone to man the desk whenever he happened to be away.
His original idea was to move Sam from Kitwe but on second thoughts he would rather let Ridgeway Liwena remain in Lusaka and ‘good old Sam’ – as he depicted him at the time – in Kitwe so that the two of us could work together in Ndola.
The strategy worked so well that the newspaper rarely missed major events taking place in Lusaka or the Copperbelt and in Kitwe in particular where Sam Kampodza often came up with exclusive stories.
He built up a solid network of contacts across the racial divide for which he won widespread admiration.
He was sharp and quick learner. As a result, Sam was able to write with authority about complex sports codes that were previously expatriate-dominated like equestrian (show jumping), angling, fencing, badminton, hockey, rugby, swimming and tennis or lawn tennis.
To write about such sophisticated games one must have a deeper understanding of the principles, the right jargon and most importantly, the rules of the game.
It was equally important to know the proper designations or titles of the various international organisations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Football Federation (FIFA) to which all our local associations were affiliated, their headquarters in Europe and United States of America (US), their presidents and secretaries-general, etc.
Acutely aware that these were some of the hallmarks of a seasoned sports writer, Sam was never found wanting as he had all these among his rich repertoire.
He was such an all-rounder that even on the beautiful game, Sam Kampodza was a paragon.
With a keen eye on detail, he produced some of the most comprehensive football reports on National Football League (NFL) and Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) cup matches.
Yes, ‘good old Sam’ was so reliable and dependable the editor had every reason to bank on him when the chips were down.
For on a dry day (when there were no obvious top stories) hard-working Sam Kampodza would come up with what we were taught in journalism classes as an ‘off-beat’ story for the main story on the Back Page (Sports Page).
If my memory serves right, the rise to stardom of the late Godfrey Chitalu, arguably one of country’s top strikers ever, was due to Kampodza’s reportorial prowess. While playing for Kitwe United with the likes of Stephen Makungu, Emment Kapengwe and Moses Kabaila, young Chitalu was a skilful but hot-tempered player.
In his match-reports Kampodza characterised him as the ‘Bad Boy of Zambia’ because at the slightest provocation, he would literally take the law into his own hands and confront the opposing defender for dangerous play.
And if in his opinion the match officials appeared incompetent, or sleeping on the job, Chitalu did not mince words as he would openly ‘lecture’ the referee or the ‘guilty’ linesman for allowing, for example, a double-footed sliding-tackle to go unpunished.

. Chitalu

Ironically, it was Chitalu who often found himself at the receiving end, as he would be booked or even sent off the field by referees like Francis Kapansa and Train Viyuyi who would not stomach such acts of ‘insubordination’ from the Buchi Stadium youngster.
His decision to join ‘Magnificent’ Kabwe Warriors was the turning point in his career because Godfrey, eventually mellowed into a well-disciplined player and vital cog in coach Ante Buselic’s Zambia national soccer team, thanks, partly, to Sam Kampodza’s analytical reports that helped the once ‘Bad Boy of Zambian football’ mend his ways.
Sam also used his weekly Face-to-Face column to highlight the accomplishments of many sports personalities.
These included amateur boxers like Charm Chiteule, Julius Luipa, David Natta and professionals like the ‘Lion of Kitwe’ Lemmy Chaplin and Tarzan City Guy of Ndola.
Some of the officials he wrote extensively about included former FIFA referee and founder of Power Dynamos FC, Arthur Davies, FAZ and Amateur Boxing Association of Zambia (ABAZ) secretary-general Ernest Mate, ABAZ chairman Bill Chanda, NFL chairperson Jimmy Fleming, NFL committee members Peter Mashambe, Vincent Chishala, Jethro Ngwane, and NFL secretaries Richard Mulenga and John Ngwisha.
Amateur Athletics Association of Zambia (AAAZ) secretary Stan Smith, coach Samson Mubangalala, Zambia Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (ZOCAGA) chairman Wesley Nyirenda and secretary Andrew Green were also on Sam’s list of interviewees.
Of course there were others too many to mention here. But it was one single expatriate lady, Flo Morgan, the chairperson of the Softball Association of Zambia who transformed Sam Kampodza’s life.
Through her overseas contacts, she organized a scholarship for him to pursue a degree programme in business administration in the United States.
Upon completion, Kampodza did not return to Zambia (if he did I was not aware) but instead migrated to neighbouring Botswana.
And that is where I found him in Gaborone in 1992. He was working for Dikgang Publishing Company, the publishers of Mmegi (The Reporter) newspaper not as a sports reporter but as business editor.
He proved that he was such a dedicated and proficient business editor that management decided to reward him with what turned out to be a watershed special assignment.
When approached by the Office of the President (OP) to nominate someone to cover President Sir Ketumile Masire’s visit to the US, Mmegi bosses had no hesitation in recommending the soft-spoken Sam Kampodza for the task.
I came to learn later that it was the first time a ‘kwerekwere’ (foreigner) had travelled with the president on an overseas trip.
Upon his return he invited me to his rented home in Gaborone’s Broadhurst suburb to show me the AKAI music system he had bought while in New York.
It was beautiful; he must have paid a fortune for it. But fortunately for him, it was duty-free because he was in a presidential entourage.
Sam always lived alone and it was clearly affecting his life in metropolitan Gaborone, one of the fastest growing cities south of the Sahara.
Even in Kitwe he lived alone at his Parklands flats. It always worried me although I was told he had a wife and son somewhere in the Chisamba area.
When next I met him the robust Kampodza had lost weight. I asked him if anything was the matter.
He said a Zambian doctor based at Lobatse, a town some 70km south of Gaborone, had advised him to go for regular check-ups because his blood level was too low.
“He said I could collapse and die any time,” Kampodza said in a hoarse voice.
I urged him to take it easy upon which he revealed that he had just bought a car, a Nissan Sentra to ease his transport problems.
The last time I met Sam was at the Bonnington Mall, which is located near the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC), formerly the Sheraton hotel.
It was in the evening and already dark. But from I was standing I could see that the man leaning against his white car with his head slumped on the roof the Sentra was no other ‘Good old Sam’.
So without much ado, I quickly went over to him.
“Hello Sam,” I said, trying to cheer him up. “Are you ok?” I inquired.
He said although he was still feeling weak, he would be driving to Lusaka at the weekend to visit his wife and child.
I tried to persuade him not to dare do so because he looked tired to undertake such a long trip to Lusaka, a journey of nearly 2000km, unaccompanied.
I am not sure if he managed to find someone to help him drive from Gaborone to Lusaka.
Sam Kampodza, I learned a month later, had collapsed and died somewhere in Lusaka’s Matero Township, thus ending the life of a man who distinguished himself as a top-rate sports journalist in Zambia and an accomplished business editor in a neighbouring country south of the Victoria Falls, the Smoke that Thunders, ‘Mosi-o-Tunya’.
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