Nick Oyoo Kasera
Those readers of Tanzania Sports and sports enthusiasts who follow athletics will no doubt know two of
the World’s best athletes of the years gone by.
The Ethiopian middle distance star Mirustus Yifter and the great Cuban-American Alberto Salazar. While
Mirusttus passed on some years back, Salazar was a few years ago in the cross hairs of World Doping
Agency in a suspected doping case which nearly ended the glittering career of Somali-Born great runner Mo farah.
Tanzania’s star Suleiman Nyambui floored both of those world stars severally to announce and imprint
his namein world athletics circles. That is Suleiman Nyambui, the Ukerewe Island born athlete who now
works in Daruusalaam, the capital City of the Sultanate of Brunei, as the National Athletics Coach.
Nyambui, one of Tanzania’s leading athletics lights came from being a school drop-out and fishermen to
becoming an athletic star for Tanzania on the World Stage and now a coach in the Sultanate of Brunei.
Nyambui who is approaching 70 years of age is now working on his autobiography, in his own words, to
give back to Tanzania because, “Tanzania as a country still the same geographically as it was when I was
young, has talented people or younger ones may be better than 1960’s only, leaders whom does not
know the value of sport have done wrong, to their people and country in large.
The politicians who lead the country believe that politics is more valuable to the communities than
sport. It is not possible to change their belief because they find benefits from politics and only want to
dabble a little in sports when they see the opportunity to benefit politically from sports and sports
personalities.
In their mistaken belief our politicians suck the air out of the huge potential which Nyambui believes is
even greater today than it was when Tanzania has less people and awareness was not, that great.
Nyambui got into athletics by the accident to fear of punishment from his teachers: At age 10, I moved
to Majita Butata to live with my mother’s brother named Muyengi James Magesa as Jita traditional
leader, which a family may asked one family to take one kid or two to go to live with him or her.
Before I started school age 11 was doing fishing and farming. Aged 11 I started school going 9km one way
and to be at school before 7.am. so it forced me to run daily 5 days a week fearing punishments.
My fear made me to be a runner without knowing that I would one day become a professional athlete, a great
runner. I ran in school in order to impress teachers and my fellow students without knowing that
running would secure my future and put bread on my table. I came to know my ability in running after I
became better runner from school, village, district, regional and national and became International
super runner.
Keep visiting TanzaniaSports.com to read Parts II & III of the Exclusive Interview (How I conquered the
World) with Nyambui ) and other incisive sports stories.
