MLUNDWA: THE FATHER OF PROFESSIONAL BOXING IN TANZANIA
At a young age of 18 years, one of Tanzania’s most decorated boxers, Emmanuel Mlundwa, was already in the national team in 1974 while still a student at Old Moshi Secondary School.
It was at Tabora Boys High School that Mlundwa’s love affair with boxing started. He was in Tabora Boys from 1970-1973.
“It was a must for one to have a hobby, I chose boxing,” recalls Mlundwa, now the Director of Pugilistic Syndicate of Tanzania (PST) which licenses, sanctions and governs professional boxing in East Africa’s largest country.
Mlundwa’s boxing potential saw him win the 1974 National Championships light-flyweight title, stopping Adelhadrus Mukajanga in the second round.
His success in the National Championships earned Mlundwa a place in the national team and made his international debut in the East, South and Central Africa Boxing Championships held in Dar es Salaam in 1974.
Mlundwa outpointed Uganda’s Kabaka Nasengo in the semi-finals and lost to Kenya’s renowned Steve Muchoki in the finals of the light-flyweight division.
His next major assignment with the national team was in the 1974 inaugural World Boxing Championships in Cuba where he boxed as a light-flyweight. Other Tanzania boxers in Cuba were the late welterweight Wilbert Musa, light-heavyweight Felix Joseph and late heavyweight Joseph Magera.
Mlundwa first outpointed Puerto Rico’s Alfredo Pereira in the round of 32, and in the last 16 he lost to Cuba’s eventual gold medallist Jorge Hernandez who stopped Mlundwa in less than twenty seconds of the first round.
Hernandez didn’t give Mlundwa time to map out any strategy. He unleashed a two-fisted barrage on the Tanzanian boxer who bravely avoided a trip to the canvas but was obviously shaken by the rapid onslaught from Hernandez forcing the referee to wave it off.
While Mlundwa and his compatriots did not win a medal in Havana, they were consoled by the sterling performance of fellow East Africans, Uganda’s Ayub Kalule who won gold at lightweight with Joseph Nsubuga settling for bronze and Kenya’s Steve Muchoki winning silver.
On completion of his secondary education, Mlundwa moved to Old Moshi Secondary School in 1974 for his “A” level education which was two years in form five and six. He studied pure maths, applied maths and physics.
“I started representing the national team in 1974 when I was still a student in form five. I took a lot of interest on education. It’s a very important foundation,” says Mlundwa.
After Moshi, he studied aircraft maintenance in Ethiopia, graduating with a diploma.
From Ethiopia, his thirst for knowledge took him to London where he graduated with a BSc in computer science and electronics at Keele University.
“I urge boxers to take their education seriously because you can’t box forever. I’m proud of my achievements,” says Mlundwa who’s also an international referee/judge as well as Championships Supervisor.
In addition to Cuba, among other international competitions he represented Tanzania include the 1978 African Games in Algiers and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
In Algiers, Mlundwa powered his way to the finals losing on points to Zambia’s Lucky Mutale after seeing off Morocco’s Mbarek Zarrogui in the semi-finals.
He returned home with a silver medal with light-welterweight Lucas Msomba winning a bronze medal. Tanzania placed ninth overall with Kenya the overall winners.
At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Mlundwa stopped Syria’s Tala El-Chawa in the round of 32 and lost to Ireland’s Hugh Russell in the round of 16, or pre-quarters if you like.
In addition to Mlundwa who was placed ninth overall in the flyweight division, other Tanzanian boxers in the Moscow Games were bantamweight Gerald Isaac, featherweight Isaac Mabushi, lightweight Omar Golaya, light-welterweight William Lymo, welterweight Lucas Msomba, light-middleweight Leonidas Njunwa, light-heavyweight Michael Nassoro and heavyweight Willie Isangura. The best performers were Gerald Isaac, William Lymo and Leonidas Njunwa all of whom placed fifth overall in their respective weight categories.
Mlundwa’s most memorable victory is in 1976 when he defeated Kenya’s celebrated Steve Muchoki, the 1978 World Championships gold medallist in Belgrade.
“l really enjoyed fighting Muchoki. What helped me is that I didn’t fear him despite the fact that he was boxing at home, I took him head-on to beat him on points.” He remains the only Tanzanian boxer to have defeated Muchoki.
Mlundwa fought Muchoki five times, winning once and losing four times to the great Kenyan boxer.
After Moscow, he had a short stint as a pro boxer, winning two fights and losing one. He then stepped out of the ring to introduce professional boxing in Tanzania in 1982 through the Boxing Union of Tanzania (BUT).
I remember in 1982 Mlundwa assisted me to arrange a fight for Kenya’s stylish boxer Modesty Napunyi Oduori who had decided to fight from home instead of Japan where he turned pro in 1981.
I sent Mlundwa a telegram from Uniafric House where I was operating from, and we maintained our communication. Eventually Napunyi fought Tanzania’s Onesmo Ngowi in the first professional boxing card in Kenya after independence in 1983 at the KICC, Nairobi. The Kenyan KO’d Ngowi in round three to capture the East Africa super-bantamweight title.
Mlundwa has indeed contributed a great deal in the development of boxing in Tanzania and still hopes to do more. Little wonder he has been dubbed the Father of Pro Boxing in Tanzania.
Besides Mlundwa, among other boxers who’ve brought Tanzania fame in amateur boxing include Titus Simba, the first Tanzanian boxer to win a medal at a major championships (he won silver in the 1970 Commonwealth Games at middleweight), Habibu Kinyogoli, Nassoro Michael, Michael Yomba Yomba who won bantamweight gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the Matumla brothers, 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Yusuf Changalawe and Kassim Mbundwike and Tanzania’s first ever female boxer to win a medal at a major international tournament Grace Mwakamele, a silver medallist in the 2023 Africa Championships in Yaounde, Cameroon.
