One of the oddest non-coronavirus related stories to emerge in world football during this pandemic is that of Hiannick Kamba, the former Schalke defender who was pronounced dead back in 2016. The Congolese player had been presumed deceased for four years but it has now emerged that he is alive and well.
Kamba, who was a product of Die Knappen's youth academy, was thought to have passed away in apparent car crash in his home country. The defender, who played mainly in Germany's lower leagues, was declared deceased by his then employers VfB Huls.
However, that is far from the truth as it has now come to light that he is alive and working as a chemical technician in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. This raises the question: what happened and why did everyone presume him to be dead?
According to BILD, this looks to be an elaborate insurance fraud scheme on the part of his ex-wife. Kamba's former significant other pocketed an approximate six-figure insurance policy payout after providing a death certificate, which is now believed to have been forged.
She is now being investigated. Anette Milk, who is the prosecutor in this case, told BILD that Kamba's ex-wife claims innocence. "The accused is accused of fraud, but she denies the fact. The proceedings are still ongoing," Milk told the German tabloid.
But what happened to the defender? How did the entire world come to think he was deceased when he was not? The prosecutor offered Kamba's version of events, revealing that he was the victim of this alleged ploy.
"[Kamba] stated that his companions had left him during the night while on a trip to the interior of the Congo in January 2016 and they took his papers, money and telephone," Milk added.
Hiannick applied to return to Germany in 2018. His family fled from Congo to the European powerhouse in 1986 but were deported back in 2005. Despite this, due to his Schalke youth team status, he was allowed to remain. The process to return to Germany was not easy but after several hurdles, he was permitted entry before settling down in Gelsenkirchen. Kamba is now a witness in the fraud case against his ex-wife.
