Orlando Pirates youngster Milimo Nalumango’s decision to switch his international allegiance from Zambia to South Africa has sparked questions in Zambia, particularly given his previous involvement with the Zambian junior national teams.

Nalumango represented Zambia at Under-17 and Under-20 level, but has now joined Raymond Mdaka’s South Africa Under-20 squad.

With both of his parents having Zambian roots, the decision has left many Zambians wondering what prompted the youngster to make the switch to Amajita.

However, speaking to South Africa’s Soccer Laduma, Milimo’s father, Dr David Tebogo Nalumango, has explained that his son has deep South African roots and is, in fact, a fifth-generation South African.

Dr Nalumango, a medical doctor practising in Johannesburg, opened up about his son’s South African heritage, football journey and how he came to represent Zambia before switching allegiance to South Africa.

“Basically, in summary, his great-grandmother, Mrs Mokgosi, my mother being his grandmother, and myself are all South African. So, he’s a fifth-generation South African. I think the only person you can question is his great-great-grandmother, Johanna Mokgosi, who was a German lady who came to settle here in South Africa. That is our family history,” he concluded.

Connection to South Africa explained

Dr Nalumango explained that his own mother, Milimo’s grandmother, was born in Kimberley, South Africa, before moving to Zambia.

“Milimo’s grandmother, my late mother, was South African-born in Kimberley, here in South Africa. Her maiden name was Mokgosi. She met my late father while they were studying. She was training to become a nurse, while my late father was training to become a medical doctor in Durban,” Dr Nalumango revealed.

“My late father was Zambian. In 1963, my mother joined the ANC as well, and she went into exile in Zambia that same year. I was born in Zambia in 1964. I went to school in Zambia and then did my secondary schooling in Botswana. In 1994, I came back to South Africa. I still had my South African citizenship because of my mother being South African.”

Dr Nalumango married a Zambian woman in 1993, and the couple had Milimo in Johannesburg in 2007. The youngster has since grown up and completed his schooling in South Africa.

“We had Milimo with my wife in 2007. This is where it gets complicated. I married a Zambian lady in 1993, but she came to South Africa with me, and we had Milimo in 2007 here in Johannesburg. He has grown up here in South Africa.”

Zambia interest was because of Surname

According to his father, Zambia became interested in the youngster partly because of his surname when he was in Germany

“Because of my surname being Zambian, the Zambian national team asked, ‘Who is this boy?’ We said, ‘No, he is Milimo Nalumango, but unfortunately, he is South African.’ Then they asked, ‘Is there no Zambian heritage from when he was born?’ I said, ‘No. When he was born, my wife was still under permanent residency, and she hadn’t converted to South African citizenship. So, they said, ‘Well, that means he may be able to play for Zambia because his mother happened to be Zambian when he was born,'” Dr Nalumango explained.

Milimo’s mother subsequently became a South African citizen in 2008.

Milimo used SA passport despite playing for Zambia

The youngster was called up to Zambia’s Under-17 national team at the age of 15 and featured at the Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria, where he played against Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco.

He was later called up to the Under-20 team at the age of 17, despite travelling on a South African passport.

“All these matches, he was playing for Zambia but travelling on a South African passport. Can you imagine that? Even when they went to Egypt for the Under-20s, some of the technical team members in the South African team asked, ‘But why are you playing for Zambia with a South African passport?’ Then he had to explain, ‘No, because my mom was Zambian when I was born, so apparently I was allowed to play,'” his father added.

Milimo later secured a football academy sponsorship to move to the United Kingdom last year, where he continued his schooling and played for semi-professional side Plymouth Parkway.

His return to South Africa’s junior national setup came after Mdaka showed interest in the youngster during the team’s first Under-20 camp.

With Nalumango now part of the South African Under-20 setup, his father believes the youngster’s international journey is rooted in a family history that stretches across generations and both Zambia and South Africa.