'They are very good people' - Chipolopolo midfielder on playing with Kenyans in Zambian Super League
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Reading Time: 4min | Tue. 19.08.25. | 07:40
Zambia exited the CHAN tournament from the group stage after losing all their four group matches
Zambia’s 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) captain, Kelvin Kampamba, has opened up about his close bond with Kenyan players who have featured in the Zambian league, describing them as talented footballers and great teammates.
The Zambian international has had a long career in the Zambian league, having had two stints at Nkana FC, a stint at Power Dynamos, and is currently on his second stint at Zesco United.
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All these times, Kampamba has shared a dressing room with Kenyan footballers and therefore experienced who they are.
Kampamba, who has been in Kenya with the Zambian CHAN squad, shared with Mozzart Sport his experience with the Kenyan contingent.
“I was in Nkana with the likes of Duke Abuya and Duncan Otieno and also played in Zesco with Jesse Were and the others. The Kenyan guys are very good people.
They are very talented and work together as a team. I made friends with them and we still speak even though some, like Shakava (Harun), do not play currently. Were (Jesse) even came to see us (Zambia) in camp,” said Kampamba.
Kampamba became eligible to play in the ongoing CHAN after he rejoined Zesco in July and was thereafter named captain of the CHAN squad.
Prior to that, the 28-year-old was playing in the Libyan league, first with Benghazi-based side Al Nasr and later with Al Madina of Tripoli, before he was caught up in the middle of the war.
“The people there loved me a lot. They liked how I was playing football and assisting the team. I won the championship in my first six months.
They wanted me to extend my contract for a further year when it expired ,but that is the time the war started, and the government was involved in making sure I came back to Zambia,” said Kampamba.
Libya experienced violent clashes in the recent past involving armed rival groups after the killing of a local militia leader, with the fighting centered in Tripoli.
Kampamba, who was then turning out for Al Madina, shared with us the harrowing experience when the war was at its peak.
“The situation was very bad for me. I had not experienced something like that because Zambia is a peaceful country.
For two days, we did not even sleep. We just stayed in one room with the guys. I can say that I even had a mental breakdown as I was thinking of how to run away,” he explained.
With his safety at risk, the former Al Nasr midfielder sought the services of the Zambian embassy to come to his aid.
“We tried to shift from Tripoli to Misrata because the war was heavy in Tripoli. We wanted to go to Tunisia but the border there was closed. I then communicated with the embassy in Egypt because there is none in Libya.
We wanted to run to Egypt, but things were bad and my passport was with the management, and they could not give us back our passports in time,” he continued.
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Back at home, sports enthusiasts were putting pressure on the Zambian government to facilitate Kampamba’s rescue and that of other Zambians in the country.
In the end, the former Power Dynamos star was evacuated from the country through the Ministry of Sports in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kampamba equally disclosed having a deal from Israel but is hesitant to take it due to the security concerns in the country.
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“I even had a proposed contract in Israel and you see how Israel is also. Coming from a war zone in Libya, and Israel is also not okay and the family factor also comes in.
The most important thing is family. Even though Libya was good in terms of money and wages, I had to come back to Zambia,” he concluded.
Zambia exited the CHAN tournament from the group stage after losing all their four group matches, the latest being a 1-0 loss to Kenya on Sunday, 17 August, at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
