Former Flames striker Esau ‘Black Mamba’ Kanyenda will be laid to rest in the United Kingdom, his family has confirmed.
Kanyenda, who was considered as one of the most prolific strikers in Malawi football, died at the age of 43, after succumbing to liver cancer in the United Kingdom on Tuesday.
His elder brother Christopher Kanyenda confirmed that the family had agreed to bury Esau in the UK.
“Esau will be laid to rest in the UK. His body will not be repatriated to Malawi,” he said.
But Christopher said some of the details including the burial date and exact place will be announced soon.
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“For now, we cannot disclose much about his burial arrangements. We are still working on the arrangements,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Football Legends Association (FLA) has said it will hold a tribute to Kanyenda in Blantyre and Lilongwe today.
FLA Chairperson Jim Kalua said the public is invited to join the tributes.
“The Blantyre event will take place outside Kamuzu Stadium, starting at 9:30 am while the Lilongwe event will be held outside the Bingu National Stadium from 9:am,” Kalua said.
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Kanyenda was one of the key members of the Flames squad that qualified for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Angola.
At the peak of his career, he scored 22 goals in 72 matches for the Flames having started 63 matches and played in nine as a substitute. He is the fifth joint top goal scorer along with Chiukepo Msowoya.
Kanyenda played for Dwasco in Nkhotakota District. In his debut season, he scored 17 goals for Dwasco.
Then, he moved to Jomo Cosmos in South Africa where he played between 2002 and 2003.
At Cosmos, Kanyenda scored 26 goals in 46 appearances including 11 goals in seven consecutive matches in his debut season.
He also played for Russian clubs such as Rostov and Lokomotiv Moscow. He was the first Malawian to play in the Uefa Champions League. He also had stints with FC Kamaz, Rotor Volgograd and Dynamo Bryansk.
Kanyenda returned to South Africa and joined Polokwane Stars in 2012. But he returned home and joined Mighty Wanderers. He helped the Nomads to win the league title in 2017 after scoring eight goals before scoring six goals in 2018.
