When Power Dynamos Football Club is officially crowned Zambian champions for the eighth time this Saturday, it will not only be a time for celebration but also a poignant moment to reminisce about the life and vision of Meyton Kaira, the club’s late founder.
The moniker “Baby Born with Teeth” is often not mentioned enough at Arthur Davies Stadium when one deeply reflects on the vision and dedication of Ba Kaira, as he was fondly called until he was untimely called to be with the Lord last January.
Armed with only his passion, dedication, and sacrifice, Ba Kaira founded Power Dynamos from the dusty Ndeke Township 54 years ago and birthed a giant of a football team that incredibly took only 12 years to achieve ultimate perfection with a maiden Zambian League victory in 1984, just five years after being promoted to the elite league of local football.
In his lifetime, Ba Kaira lived to witness Power Dynamos haul 33 trophies into its cabinet, including seven Zambia Super League titles and the Nelson Mandela Cup (current CAF Confederation Cup) in 1991, becoming the only local club to win a continental competition and earning itself a place among the most revered teams.
In the 1970s, when Rokana United (Nkana Football Club) and Kitwe United were the glamorous sides of Kitwe, it was incredible that a man whose only adventure from his village in Muyombe in Isoka to Kitwe was to seek a job in Copperbelt Power Company (CPC), now Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc ( CEC), made a bold decision that would permanently create a cross-town football rivalry that is perhaps one of the most ferocious in Africa today.
Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc’s (CEC), consistent support of Power Dynamos demonstrates the treasured strong corporate values and culture embedded in the company’s history.
“At the time CPC moved us out of Mine Township, I was a Rokana (Nkana) supporter. But when we settled in Ndeke, I told management that we need to have our own team like Nkana because we are in competition with them,” Ba Kaira said in a rare interview before he passed.
The contest for dominance between Power Dynamos and Nkana has evolved into one of the most hostile and ferocious rivalries, with their meetings reverberating across Zambia and beyond.
Like a true visionary, Ba Kaira did not wait for management’s approval to start the team but instead created the Power Dynamos team with personal resources, and his rugged van became the team’s first official transport.
“When Mr. Arthur Davies became general manager, he came to me and said, now let’s make this team grow bigger,” he said.
Nothing reflects Ba Kaira’s passion and self-sacrifice more than his refusal to have the Power Dynamos official stadium named after him.
“When CPC finished constructing the stadium, Mr. Arthur Davies came to me and said, go and have a meeting and come up with the name of the stadium since we are about to open it. My colleagues, the few players, decided that the stadium should be named Meyton Kaira because of my sacrifice towards the creation of the team. But instead, I convinced them it was in the best future interest of Power Dynamos if we name the stadium after Mr. Arthur Davies because he will continue to support it to remain a beautiful stadium and the ultimate beneficiaries will be the Zambians. After a long fight among ourselves, we agreed that it would be called Arthur Davies Stadium, and that’s how we took the minutes of the meeting to Mr. Arthur Davies, and gladly, he accepted,” Ba Kaira narrated.
As Power Dynamos celebrates this season’s success, there could never have been a better present to give to a football colossus who reached such a pinnacle of achievements yet claimed so little personal glory.
Ba Kaira, who passed away in Kitwe, was laid to rest following an emotional farewell, with players, coaches, and all football enthusiasts expressing their love and gratitude to a fallen football servant.
“I am grateful because the trophies we are winning bring joy to Power Dynamos and its supporters,” once said Ba Kaira.
He will forever be remembered by Power Dynamos’ faithfuls.
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