THE family of the Kabwe footballer, who collapsed during a match and later died, has refused to have a postmortem that could have ascertained the cause of the death. The body has since been buried.
The family has also said that it would not seek compensation because this and a postmortem would not bring Bwalya Mukuka back to life.
The 17-year-old Bwalya collapsed while playing for his Kabwe District Amateur Football Association (KADAFA) affiliated team, Super Lions, in a match against Pamodzi on Sunday.
His father, Edward Mukuka, said in an interview yesterday at the funeral house in Ngungu township that the family resolved that there would be no postmortem and that they would not ask to be compensated.
Bwalya, who was a Grade 11 pupil at Bwacha Secondary School in Kabwe, was buried on Wednesday at St Mary’s Cemetery.
“There was no postmortem. The reason is that as a family we did not want him to be cut. Our son was not going to come back even if a postmortem was done,” Mukuka said.
He said, however, that the family was shocked at the death of his second son.
“We were visiting them on Saturday and he was just okay. So on Sunday around 14:00 hours, he told us that he was going to play football,” Mukuka said.
Mukuka, who resides in Kitwe, added: “He (Bwalya) played the first half and it was in the second half that he fell on the ground and the ball was not in his possession. When he collapsed, he was substituted.”
He said Bwaya collapsed again on the way home.
Mukuka said just before 19:00 hours, one of Bwalya’s friends rushed to inform the family that Bwalya was unwell and was brought home on a bicycle before being rushed to the clinic.
“At Ngungu Health Centre, we were told by a nurse that he had low blood (pressure).He died as we were waiting for an ambulance to take him to Kabwe General Hospital,” he said.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Poor kid…A post would have been such valuable information to the nation very much so to our other young Mukukas playing football in Zed today…RIP young champion…
He should have been taken to the hospital when he collapsed on the pitch and substituted. When Bolton’s Muamba collapsed on the pitch he was rushed to hospital and now he is recovering.
MHSRIP
Y is it dat evrytym footballers colapsy on da pitch & die? Wonderin
My understanding is that because the death was sudden and without history of illness, it warranted investigation by autopsy and more without having to obtain consent from relations – this is the law.
What if one of the same relatives who are refusing autopsy are somehow involved and we have a murderer on the loose?
What if this is a condition detectable by clinical and laboratory exam (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or one of the heart elecrtical conduction defects) which we can find in other possible future young athletes so we can advise them against physical exertion? If it is genetic, we must screen siblings of the deceased.
This is one of hundreds cases where the state is criminally failing to protect citizens. Please get us competent police officers and enough pathologists
most of these young men who collapse on the field have a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.This may hardly affect normal day-to-day life, but when the heart is severely strained like during a football match it can have serious consequences.
I can sympathize with the family. Autopsies are ‘brutal’
How sad MHSRIP,or it could what we call Brugada syndrome or cardiomyopathy mostly brugada. look it up
too bad for the family. Government is considering funding the funeral
That’s a not going to do the dead boy any justice or any of the members in his family as it may be a genetic illness…
‘may be’…We dont know ba Jay Jay…would have been nice to know to warm the living…
Another unfortunate incident. MHSRIP.
Our country needs more than education to understand the importance of Autopsies. As clearly indicated here, the family saw no benefit in their loved one “being cut!” Very understandable when you are bereaved & still mourning the loss. IT INFACT IS VERY DIFFICULT AS A MEDICAL PERSON TO START ASKING FOR PERMISSION. However, especially as in this case,
SOME CAUSES OF DEATH ARE INHERITED, such as someone has already mentioned, HYPERTROPHIC CARTDIOMYOPATHY, & as such, CONFIRMATION BY WAY OF AUTOPSY, would advantage the family in that MEDICAL COUNSELLING COULD BE PROVIDED for other siblings & their CHILDREN. They would be advised to have examinations of their hearts before embarking in strenous sports or activities. HOWEVER, what will happen now,…
…. is that, e.g. if another sibling were to die in similiar circumstances, people will start speculating that it is witchcraft, thinking someone has bewitched the family, when actually not.
The case of Muamba in the UK is case in point.
The other problem we have, is that OUR CORONIAL SYSTEM is either very poor or NONE EXISTENT!!! EVERY DEATH SHOULD HAVE A KNOWN CAUSE!! People don’t just die without cause! The SYSTEM WORKS TO PROTECT EVERY PERSON’S RIGHT TO LIFE!
The coroner establishes cause of death & is satisfied that a person’s mode of death fits circumstances in which a person met their death, OTHERWISE THE CASE IS HANDED OVER TO POLICE AS A PROBABLE HOMICIDE for investigation. However, that isn’t the only purpose, PUBLIC HEALTH is assured by identifying communicable disease
The state through de police are to blame coz it is their duty to explain the importance of autopsy to de family.Some familes are ignorant that they nid competent pipo to explain to them.anyway mhisrp
….IT THEREFORE SHOULD BE MANDATORY BY LAW (I guess it probably is, as we inherited our laws from Britain, just that ignorance seems to carry the day!), THAT EVERY DEATH SHOULD HAVE A SATISFIABLE CAUSE! Otherwise, people will be “bumped off” & “buried” without any known cause & people will literally GET AWAY WITH MURDER!!!!!!
From the story, I understand that he was living with a relative and not his parents. Limbi afwile ku nsala, balemutana afyakulya. Baletina ukusebanya abalemusunga, by conducting an autopsy, limbi balasanga ati talilepo for two days. There is a lot of cruelty towards dependants that is going on in some homes, due to poverty
Iwe, wila sebanya abena mbereshi, twala ubu fututu uko!
Wise parents.
Not that Mabenga who refused to bury her daughter.
The headline does not correspond to the story at hand.. At the stadium, He collapsed and was substruted ..on his way home he collapsed again = they did not attend to him well by allowing him to go home instead of taking him to the hospital from the stadium, after his first collapse.. Sack the team doctor .
They didnt have a team doctors,neither was any doctor around.
its what zambians do my friend. someone falls sick at school, they are sent home not to the hospital. when got back on his feet, they were probably like “mutileni manzi enze afenta che”
A footballer Piermarjo Morosini aged 25 playing for Livorno in the Italian Serie B league died this afternoon after collapsing on the pitch. It happened after 31 minutes of play and the game was abandoned.
Before football became business such stories were unheard of. THIS SOUNDS LIKE THE STORY OF RUDE ZAMBIAN NURSES. People that have have no disposition or character trait joining nursing just to have a career and make ends meet. I AM SEEING THIS IN FOOTBALL, people without the athletic stamina going into the the game and ending up dead. Not just in Zambia but the world over Maumba of Bolton and today an Italian Series B player (Morosini) actulally died after collapsing on the pitch. Chaswe Nsofwa is another (mhsrip).
Dr. Jagular and Kamwendo I salute U for educating some of us who could have just accepted the stance of the deceased parents. Yes the Coroner’s job is to look into such cases. May God bless U pipo of God.
Kamwendo thank u for enlightening us. We need people like you on these blogs. Post Mortems need not be viewed as ghastly or unholy. They may not bring back a life but they leave us with information that helps the future
the family may have been influenced by two factors.. 1) that post mortem will not bring him back, and 2) the boy was playing for a Kabwe District Amateur Football Association (KADAFA) affiliated team, Super Lions, the amateur status being taken to mean “no compensation to be expected.” To me the second reason is where FAZ should have a guiding hand by requiring even lower rank divisions to have insurance for their players.
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