Siang’a: Forceful in goal but composed in the outfield of life

I first interviewed James Siang’a in 1979, on a night in November. Fireflies lit the dark sky above the rooftops of the drab Kaloleni houses and the city stadium floodlights illuminated the crestfallen faces of thousands of fans making their way out of that football shrine where our dreams had turned into nightmare.

Kina Phiri’s Malawi had at the last breathe levelled the scores and proceeded to beat Harambee Stars 3-2 in extra time to snatch victory in the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.

There is a fan whose take on what had just happened I will never forget: he was standing next to me when the referee blew his last whistle. He was shell-shocked and his motionless eyes faced the night sky. Then he uttered this to himself and heaven: “Siang’a and coach go home!” He looked well and truly traumatised. After a while, he started walking towards the exit slowly, very slowly, with his hands in his pockets and his head bowed.

The coach was Gregory Palakov from Poland. Siang’a was his deputy. Palakov’s staff included an English speaking interpreter and that’s how our interview was conducted. He blamed the catastrophe on the loss of Charles Ochieng’, our heading specialist who was injured midway through the proceedings. But I couldn’t be satisfied without also hearing from his legendary deputy.

I was disappointed because Siang’a deferred most of my questions to Palakov. Yet I respected and even liked him, because it was the proper thing to do; you don’t upstage your boss and worse, in his presence.

He was able to convey the message that he wasn’t being rude or evasive. That is how my loose friendship with one of the greatest goalkeepers to have been born and played in these shores began.
His reaction to that defeat told much about his character. He was calm, as the fall-out from the unexpected result raged around him. It seemed as if victory would have elicited the same composure, I thought as I got to know him in the years that followed. He is that same man that I last saw when we had lunch together as he carefully selected what he could eat on account of his diabetes which he bore with remarkable fortitude.

Although he is well known as a pioneering coaching export from our country, I think his peers will remember his decade-long tenure at Harambee Stars for two incidents. The first one is the 1965 debacle against Ghana. Siang’a was then the reserve goalkeeper. Harambee Stars got whitewashed 13-2, a record that still stands. Siang’a got his chance at the posts when Ghana were nine ahead, so he let in only four.

It was the game in which an agonised President Jomo Kenyatta asked whether they couldn’t get Kipchoge Keino to come “and run around with these people” (the sleek Black Stars) who were tormenting him so much. Someone told him that Kipchoge did track, not football. Kenyatta left at half time (Ghana 6 Kenya 1), never to return to a football match for the rest of his life.

The problem with such mountainous scores is that they tell only part of the story. Few people thus know that it is because of his sterling performance that afternoon that the young Siang’a earned his permanent place as Harambee Stars Number One.

NEARLY LOST HIS LIFE

The next incident is when Siang’a almost lost his life. Riako was the name of the beautiful girl in the centre of it. She was a student at the University of Nairobi. She hailed from Imbo, in Siaya County. Riako had a relationship with William “Chege” Ouma, who some insist is the best Number 9 Kenya has ever produced – with a deep bow to Joe Masiga.

Chege also had a volcanic temper, which ruined the attraction to his handsome face and exquisite ball control skills. Somewhere along the way, Riako decided to dump Chege and go into the cool Siang’a’s strong and waiting arms.

Chege took it badly. He went to Omwanda’s butchery in Kaloleni and armed himself with a sharpened machete, the one the owner/manager used to cut large pieces of meat into small ones. Omwanda’s butchery was next to Kaloleni Public Bar – “Kanyim’s” or “Ikulu”, as they called it. Customers having drinks at “Ikulu” always ordered their nyama choma or “boil” at Omwanda’s. Kaloleni Public Bar was the “official” watering hole of Gor Mahia players.

Chege went there and found Siang’a and Riako happily drinking beer. He set upon Siang’a and started slashing him. Siang’a suffered deep cuts on his arms as he tried to wade off the attack. A man called Obiero, brother of Harambee Stars skipper Steve Yongo, also suffered cuts as he tried to restrain Chege.

How Siang’a escaped disabling injury or death is the stuff of miracles. Riako fled the scene. She was unharmed. And Chege earned himself one year in jail for the assault.

I am going to remember Siang’a’s demeanour for three things: his composure after the terrible 1979 loss, his glee when mimicking Mzee Kenyatta’s deep voice - (“Waaapi Kipchoge Keino? Akimbie na hawa watu!”) - and his reticence in talking about the love triangle that nearly cost him his life.

He showed me the big scars and he wore a haunted look when talking about them, so many years after it happened. I could understand his being economical with details, most of which I got from eye witnesses. I think he will take the terror of that moment to his grave.

Such is life. But James Siang’a is now gone for eternity. Those of us who grew up drawing inspiration from his name will cherish his memory. He was the best puncher of the ball when it was coming in from corner kicks. Defender John “Hatari” Otieno, soaring for a header, probably appreciated this the most because Siang’a once missed the ball and the punch landed on him.

He needed medical attention from the impact and thereafter knew the distance to position himself from Siang’a when a corner was coming.

For somebody who gave everything to club and country, James Siang’a deserved a kinder, more grateful Kenya which knows how to thank its heroes.

He deserved a more sensitive Kenya that takes care of its seniors, aware that that is the eternal way because we all pray to reach a healthy old age. He deserved a Kenya that guides its youth and tells them that time is lost in the beginning, not in the end, and those who frit away the blessings of youthful energy will suffer in the days of age and infirmity.

Most of all, he deserved a Kenya that does not steal from its sportsmen and women while claiming their hard-earned success to itself. James Siang’a was a good man, a high performance athlete, goalkeeper of our independence era, and a great coach who deserved to live in a better Kenya than he did.
I wish his family solace.

So finally, back to that traumatised fan who told him and Palakov to go home. He meant quit coaching the national team and disappear from our sight. It was a hostile statement made by a despairing believer. Now we have a chance of making it positive. Now we can have a happy closure as we embrace the comforting refuge of home in these moments of final farewell.

James Siang’a has gone to his eternal home. Let’s all hope that his journey will be filled with peace and light and happiness.