The Namibian nation, in particular the football family, mourn the shocking death of one of their most colorful athletes, Duncan Subeb, son of former Orlando Pirates Football Club and South West Africa Blacks Eleven inspirational skipper, the late Simon Steve ‘Kalamazoo’ Stephanus.
The likeable dreadlocked midfielder is reported to have taken his own life at an unnamed house in Windhoek on Sunday. Duncan boasts the record for being the only ‘footie’ to have donned the colours of almost all the big guns in the domestic topflight football league.
Duncan started his football career at an early age with boyhood team Chief Santos in his native town Tsumeb. He then went on to enjoy successful stints with Ramblers, Tigers, Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), African Stars, Black Africa, Civics, Eleven Arrows and Oshakati City, in that sequence. May his soul be blessed with peace.
Born into a football-crazy family, boasting a credible strong array of football genes from both his maternal and paternal sides, it was just a matter of time before Duncan would claim his rightful place amongst the family’s elites. After all, his old man, the late Steve Stephanus, a product of the unofficial ‘School of Excellence’ (football-wise), the revered St Joseph’s Secondary School (Döbra), needs no introduction in domestic football.
Steve represented his motherland with distinction during the apartheid era. He captained South West Africa (SWA) to her first ever continental triumph when he led the SWA Blacks Eleven to a historic victory in the South African Inter-Provincial Impala Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1974.
He also wore the captain’s armband for the star-studded SWA Blacks against their White counterparts in the second leg of the historic two-legged exhibition match between blacks and whites, ultimately paving the way for the inevitable integration of multi-racial football in apartheid South West Africa in 1977.
Duncan’s half-brothers Lolo Goraseb, Allan Shekupe, Steven Goageb and Awillo Stephanus also made their mark in domestic football, and lest we forget, so did nephew Ambrossius ‘Six Maboine’ Vyff. Uncles Willem, John, Mike, Arnold and Tinsie Hans were also formidable ‘footies’ during their heyday, whilst nephews Bolle Hans and acrobatic goalie Arnold Subeb, completes the stinking rich list of noted ‘footies’ from his maternal side.
Duncan was very passionate about football to the extent that he never really stopped training, even way after he had retired from playing competitive league football. He was a regular campaigner in the popular social Sunday league, the Aweh-Aweh Soccer League. A friendly bloke always wearing a broad smile on his baby face, mild-mannered and well-spoken, Duncan, will be solely missed by teammates and opponents alike. May his gentle soul rest in power.