Ekhaya Football Club have parted ways with head coach Enos Chatama, bringing an abrupt end to a tenure that produced both the greatest achievement in the young club’s history and some of its most difficult moments. The decision, confirmed by club Chief Executive Officer Thando Mhango on Tuesday afternoon, comes barely three months after Chatama returned to the dugout following a mysterious mid-season leave of absence.
In a statement, the club said the decision followed a review of the team’s performance and was taken “in the best interest of the team and the club’s objectives of the season and beyond.” Assistant coach Fundi Akidu has been handed the responsibility of leading the technical team alongside Moses Chavula on an interim basis, while the club considers its next step regarding the head coach position.
The timing of Chatama’s departure is particularly striking because the coach leaves Ekhaya as the man who delivered the first major silverware in the club’s short history. Founded only in 2023, Ekhaya made a statement on the national stage by winning the Airtel Top 8 Cup on their debut appearance in the competition. They eliminated FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, overcame Karonga United and then defeated Mighty Wanderers in the final to lift the trophy.
For a club still in the early stages of building its identity, that achievement should have represented the beginning of a period of stability and growth. Instead, it has been followed by a major technical decision that highlights just how sharply the club’s fortunes have contrasted between cup football and the league.
Chatama’s difficulties began almost immediately this season. After only two league matches, a defeat against Blue Eagles and a draw against Red Lions, he stepped away from his duties on what was described as a leave of absence. During his time away, Akidu was given the opportunity to take temporary control of the team, and the assistant coach responded impressively, guiding Ekhaya to three victories in four matches, with only one defeat.
That spell inevitably created questions about what would happen when Chatama returned. The club eventually reinstated him in June, but his second spell in charge proved extremely difficult.
In nine matches following his return, Ekhaya managed just one win, five draws and three defeats. That amounted to only eight points from a possible 27, a return that left the club struggling for consistency at a crucial stage of the campaign. The number of draws was particularly telling, with Ekhaya recording five during that nine-match period alone — more than the three draws they registered across the entire 2025 season.
The performances also contained painful moments. A 3-0 defeat away to Silver Strikers at Silver Stadium exposed the team’s struggles, while an even more damaging collapse came against relegation-threatened Creck Sporting Club. Ekhaya appeared to be in control after taking a 2-0 lead, only to surrender the advantage and eventually lose 3-2.
By the end of the first round, the Cowboys were sitting 11th in the table with 18 points, eight points worse off than they were at the same stage of the previous season. For a side that had already established itself as cup champions, the league position represented a significant disappointment.
Across his entire tenure, Chatama’s record tells the story of a coach whose time at Ekhaya contained extraordinary highs but also considerable inconsistency. He took charge of 50 matches across all competitions, recording 19 wins, 20 defeats and 11 draws. His overall win percentage stood at 38 percent.
| Competition | Played | Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|
| FDH Bank Cup | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Castel Challenge | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Airtel Top 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| League | 41 | 14 | 18 | 9 |
| Total | 50 | 19 | 20 | 11 |
Yet reducing Chatama’s Ekhaya story to statistics alone would fail to capture the significance of his contribution to the club. He arrived in 2025 after leaving FCB Nyasa Big Bullets, taking on the challenge of helping a newly established Ekhaya side develop into a serious force in Malawian football.
Before that move, Chatama had spent eight years working with Bullets’ reserve side, where he developed a reputation as one of the country’s outstanding coaches when it came to nurturing young talent. His work helped players such as Chimwemwe Idana, Patrick Mwaungulu, Lanjesi Nkhoma, Yankho Singo, Clever Mkungula and Blessings Mpokera progress into the Malawi national team setup.
His achievements during that period were substantial. Chatama accumulated 21 titles and won 10 of the 11 cup finals in which he took charge. That record established him as more than simply a coach concerned with immediate results; he had built a reputation around development, tactical organisation and producing players capable of progressing to a higher level.
His first season at Ekhaya offered further evidence that the project could work. The club finished seventh in the league with 42 points, a respectable return for a relatively new side. They also reached the quarter-finals of the Castel Challenge Cup before losing to Dedza Dynamos and were eliminated from the FDH Bank Cup in the round of 16 by Moyale Barracks.
Then came the Airtel Top 8 triumph.
That trophy remains the strongest argument in Chatama’s favour and one of the most important achievements in Ekhaya’s brief existence. Against established opposition, the Cowboys demonstrated that they could compete with some of the biggest names in Malawian football and ultimately emerged as champions.
But football can be unforgiving. Cup success can create memories, but league football demands consistency over a much longer period. Ekhaya’s league campaign failed to match the standards established by their cup run, and the club ultimately decided that a change was necessary.
The decision has not been universally welcomed within Ekhaya. Sources close to the club, speaking to Wa Mpira on condition of anonymity to protect their standing within the organisation, described Chatama’s departure as a significant loss and questioned whether the club had made the right decision.
“We will regret the decision that we have made because Chatama is a tactician, and a hold.”
That sentiment captures the complicated nature of Chatama’s exit. He leaves a club he helped transform from a new project into a trophy-winning side, but he also leaves after a league campaign in which results fell well below expectations.
There is therefore a cruel irony surrounding his departure. The man who delivered Ekhaya’s first major trophy will not be the man tasked with building on that success. Instead, Fundi Akidu — the same assistant who impressed during Chatama’s earlier absence — now has the immediate responsibility of trying to steady the team alongside Moses Chavula.
For Ekhaya, the next appointment will carry enormous significance. The club has already shown through its Airtel Top 8 success that it has the potential to challenge established Malawian football powers. The challenge now is ensuring that the change in the technical area does not derail the broader project.
For Chatama, meanwhile, his Ekhaya chapter ends with a complicated legacy: a trophy that will remain forever in the club’s history, a strong reputation for developing players, but also a league record that ultimately proved impossible for the club to overlook.
His 50-match tenure may have ended with the sack, but the Airtel Top 8 trophy ensures that Enos Chatama will remain permanently linked with the moment Ekhaya Football Club announced itself as a serious force in Malawian football.
