Yotham Muleya

Yotam Siachobe Muleya (1940 – 23 November 1959) was a long-distance runner who represented Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Muleya broke racial barriers and opened a new era in Rhodesian sport when he beat the famous British four minute miler, Gordon Pirie, by 100 yards in a three-mile race at Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in December 1958.

On 16 November 1959, Muleya and, white track star, John Winter, the Southern Rhodesian quarter mile champion, set off on 3 month scholarships at the Central Michigan College from Salisbury Airport. They arrived in the United States three days later and were scheduled to take part in their first sports meet on 23 November 1959 at East Lansing. They started off for East Lansing in the morning accompanied by American athlete Leroy Zimmer and a driver. At 8:30 AM with the highway slippery and visibility reduced due to thick fog, their vehicle collided with another car near Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Muelya, Winter, Zimmer and the driver of the vehicle were seriously injured while the two occupants of the other vehicle died in the crash.

After completing his primary education, Muleya proceeded to Munali Secondary School in Lusaka and from there, qualified to Hodgson Training School where he enrolled as an apprentice motor vehicle mechanic in early 1958.

It was at Hodgson that Muleya's career took off. He surprised many when he set a Northern Rhodesia & Federal record of 14: 57.2 in the 3 mile event on 27 May 1958. On the strength of this achievement, he was invited to compete against British distance star Gordon Pirie in a track meet at Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, a segregationist stronghold on 6 December 1958. However, his skin colour almost saw him being barred by South Africa-born William DuBois, a dedicated white supremacist who served as chairman of the Southern Rhodesian Amateur Athletic and Cycling Union.