From humiliating substitution to safe hands: Former Ingwe custodian Edwin Mukolwe's rise to goalkeeping prominence

Shocking. Disappointing. Frustrating.

These are the words that Edwin Mukolwe choses to describe the moment that threatened to throw into abyss his dreams of becoming a top goalkeeper.

He vividly remembers the day.

Friday 28 October 2016 at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos. Kickoff time, 1500hrs. Opponent, Sofapaka FC.

This was just three days shy of five months since he made his debut for his dream club AFC Leopards against Tusker FC.

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He was only 19 then, fresh from school but had impressed the senior team coaches enough to be thrown into the deep end.

Swimming he had been, until this fateful day.

On his debut against Tusker, Mukolwe’s teammate from their Kakamega High School days, Alfred Wekesa, netted the opening goal in a match that ended 2-2.

Wekesa netted the opener again here with just six minutes in. However, two goals in 15 minutes from Ezekiel Okare had steered Sofapaka to a 2-1 lead with barely half an hour played.

Mukolwe, you could argue, was culpable for both goals.

"I conceded both goals from Noah Abich’s freekicks,” he recalls.

“Abich is arguably one of the greatest dead-ball specialists to ever grace the Kenyan topflight and on that day, I got caught out, twice,” he eloquently adds.

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Judgement, or lack of it, was Muklowe’s Achilles Heel. For both freekicks, he was too eager to come off his lines and Okare, then one of Kenya’s poisonous forwards, showed the teenager no mercies.

Club legend Ezekiel Akwana, who was the head coach, had seen enough and decided to turn Muklowe’s day from bad to worse.

For how often do you see goalkeepers subbed off unless they have suffered an injury?

Mukolwe was subjected to this rare err… humiliation. With 35 minutes gone and the youngster looking like he wanted to be anywhere in Machakos but the football field, Akwana made his move, unceremoniously hauling the rookie off for the experienced national team goalkeeper Ian Otieno.

Leopards would go on and lose the game 3-2 with Charles Mulebo stretching Sofapaka’s lead before Bruno Kiyai pulled one back for the conquered visitors in stoppage time.

“It was the lowest point of my career and it just didn’t make sense. At that point in time, I felt the best outcome would have been letting me continue,” he says.

“I felt unfairly treated because I was young. They would never have done that for an experienced keeper.

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“But I can say the experience gave me a tougher skin. Very little fazes me nowadays. It was necessary. I resumed training the following week like nothing happened and didn’t confront or complain about the incident.”

Mukolwe remained in Leopards’ books for two more years. A loan move to Wazito FC in 2018 added 12 appearances under his belt before moving on to Kangemi United where he failed to make any appearances.

“This career can be punishing if you don’t exercise patience. All those clubs were good for my development but it was moving to Bidco in 2020 that I started feeling more confident,” he says.

With 43 appearances in three years at Bidco, he earned his move to Nairobi City Stars where he has worked his way to becoming one of the finest goalkeepers in the land.

He’s cemented his spot as Simba Wa Nairobi’s number one, playing 24 games this season and keeping 10 clean sheets which puts him in the top 4 best keepers in the Kenyan Premier League.

“I am my biggest critic so although there are obvious improvements, some areas of my game still need polishing. That’s what we keep working on with my teammates and coaches,” he says.

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On how he defines his style and who he models his game on, “I am a mix of modern-day and older generation keepers. I have always been a huge fan of Manuel Neuer, he changed the goalkeeping department to what it is today.

“I also admire Alisson Becker’s influence at Liverpool and Andre Onana's confidence. For footwork, Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona & Spain) and Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns & South Africa) stand out.”

Mukolwe and City Stars have been having their best campaign in the top flight, with talks of a title challenge at some point in the season. However, inconsistent results since the turn of the New Year put an end to those hopes, and now they are pushing for a top-four finish.

“Winning the league requires picking up points even when you are not playing well. We finished the previous year in a good run, winning seven straight matches, but then just one win in our next 7 since the turn of the new year killed our chances,” he says.

When not involved in team activities, the father of one runs a sports equipment business, selling goalkeeping gloves and football equipment among other items.

“A lot of people usually talk about life after football. For me, life during football is the way to go and my aim is to expand my business and also ensure that young and established keepers have the best gloves to help them in their careers,” he concludes.

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