I also started playing football in Malindi. Every day we went to the football match with the neighbouring boys in ‘pwani ndogo’ next to Bawani. We didn't have a leather ball yet. A small plastic ball had to suffice in the beginning.

This was the beginning of my love of football, which was to accompany me throughout my life and also made me famous in Zanzibar - as position 2 in the national team.

I had many friends in the neighbourhood. I have particularly fond memories of some of them: Ali Mbamba, Salum Dodoo, Awagdh Mchazo.

When I was a little boy, I shared a room with one of my older sisters. Although the house was big, we children had to share the rooms - because, we were eleven brothers and sisters.

I learnt to swim. Less than two minutes away from our house, older children showed me how to do it. I quickly got the hang of it and was unstoppable. I often swam further out than my parents allowed. It was just too interesting to get to the ‘break water’ and watch the crabs and fish from there. Allthough it was dangerous nobody could stop me.

And something else was exciting and fascinated me and my friends. My father bought a small pedal car - a red Austin - which we drove back and forth on our roof terrace. One of my class mates, Abdi Mahmoud, used to visit me in Malindi only to get a chance to drive this small, funny car. But usually I sat at the stearing and enjoyed the attention of the others. Nevertheless at the end all of us were happy - my friends, my parents and I.

We children didn't really have to help with the housework as we had domestic servants. But almost every morning I went to buy mandazi for everyone. That was my job.

My mother liked the mandazi from ‘Tausi Hotel’ - my father liked them from ‘Bahurmuz’ (later Passing Show). It was a real "tug-of-war" as to where I should buy the mandazi. Most of the time, my father won the battle and I marched with my small legs to the main road and shopped at ´Bahurmuz´.