Dear readers, my aging fingers are trembling with anger and disbelief as I pen this tribute to a man I personally regarded as a brother, trusted buddy and former teammate.
A highly-gifted streetwise athlete, Bro Jack was a complete baller who was not only blessed with power in his tiny feet but was also an intelligent team player.
Bro Jack was extremely competitive and always wanted to win even if he had to take crucial matches by the scruff of the neck to fashion the desired result.
Truth be told, he was the driving force behind African Stars’ success, scoring vital winning goals when least expected to. Yours Truly vividly recalls two specific matches in which Bro Jack announced his arrival on the big stage.
He demolished Life Fighters in a delayed cup final at Okakarara Primary School’s gravel field.
He effortlessly netted a well-taken double brace. The Brave Lions of Judah won 4-0. Bro Jack repeated the same feat when he made his official debut for African Stars against Tigers at the SKW stadium in 1981. He rattled the opposition’s net on no fewer than four occasions and Stars won 4-0.
Apart from his unbelievably accurate shooting prowess, Bro Jack could spot open spaces in the defence with his trademark long-range passes. From a personal assessment, he was among the greatest ball passers in the game. Those in the know might argue and rightly so, that former Black Africa and Kaizer Chiefs speedy centre forward Pius ‘Garrincha’ Eigowab was the greatest sharpshooter Namibia has ever produced up to the modern day.
The bow-legged attacker could strike the ball at full speed with both feet from tight angles. Many goalkeepers dreaded the mere sight of the fast-as-lightning Dobra protégé. Well, great athletes come and go and by the time Eigowab bowed out of the game, there came an unknown young skinny light-skinned fellow going by the name of Jackson Kotjiuru Meroro.
Admittedly, his body structure resembled that of an innocent lad who could hardly harm a fly, but oh boy, place a spherical object at his tiny feet and Jackson will leave the crowd gasping for fresh air.
Bro Jack will certainly go down in history as one of the greatest sharpshooters to have ever walked on Namibian soil.
Born and bred in Namibia’s business hub Windhoek in 1959, Jackson, often going by the nickname ‘TB’, was just like many young boys in the neighbourhood – football crazy.
He played football at the slightest provocation, honing his skills in the dusty streets of Katutura location. Strangely, Jack started his primary school at the Ondera Ombua Goeie Hoop Primary School at Okovimburu village in the Epukiro Constituency, Omaheke region.
Nonetheless, he occasionally resurfaced in his hometown during school holidays to be reunited with his boyhood buddies. Dubbed ‘TB’ by his buddies in reference to his frail body resembling someone suffering from the deadly Tuberculosis disease, in short, ‘TB’, Jack was a founder member of Young Terrors FC made up of young footies from the hood.
Unlike many traditional goal poachers, Bro Jack was a different kettle of fish and a damn good passer of the ball, leaving some of the greatest ball distributors green with envy. He started playing competitive football with Hungry Lions where he grew in stature.
However, after a few seasons with the Brave Lions of Judah, big brother Stars snatched him from the Lions’ den and as they say, the rest is history.
Tellingly, the adorable boy with the delicious right foot went on to establish himself as a vital cog in the Reds firing line alongside veteran winger Immanuel Kamuserandu, Hassie Mingeri, and fellow youngster Juku Tjazuko, with the great Oscar Mengo pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
Bro Jack has won high-profile silverware there was to win in the business with Starlile and will go down in history as one of the finest talents of his generation. He also had a sporadic stint with unfashionable Arandis outfit Western Stars during his tenure at the Rössing Uranium Mine.
Regrettably, the short-fused attacker suffered a devastating potentially career-ending leg fracture during an unfortunate off-the-field incident that sidelined him for an extended period.
Nonetheless, after a prolonged period on the sidelines, Bro Jack returned to action, but he was no longer the same feared net-buster thus opting to exit the game prematurely.
Upon retirement from playing competitive football, Bro Jack mysteriously fell ill and was confined to a wheelchair, battling impaired speech. His former teammates from both Hungry Lions and Stars organised a fund-raising campaign for the terminally ill retired footballer.
The gathering was held at the NFA Technical Centre in 2019, with exhibition football matches between the club’s legends, while the popular Omurari and Epukiro masters renewed their rivalry in the curtain-raiser.
The gathering was graced by live music performances headlined by Sigera Jazz and Fusion band joined on stage by the old fashioned Concert Troupe (Oviritje).
Bro Jack also made a name for himself on the football pitch when he went to further his studies at the Okakarara Senior Secondary School. He was the catalyst of the school’s football team playing alongside former Life Fighters lethal striker Moses Five Kandingua and the equally dangerous Immanuel Fussy Semba.
However, it was not long before flamboyant Katutura outfit Hungry Lions came knocking on the door for his precious signature. Bro Jack fitted like a glove in hand in the Brave Lions of Judah’s firing line alongside the equally free-scoring attackers Issy Murangi and Kallie Billhawer.