A former Schalke youth player, who was teammates with German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, has come back from the dead. Well, Hiannick Kamba didn’t really come back from the dead, but he was presumed dead four years ago and that appears to not be the case.
According to Bild, Kamba is back in Germany after his team at the time, eighth division VfB Huls, reported that Kamba was killed in a 2016 car accident in his native Congo. Instead, Kamba returned to his former job as a chemical technician at an energy supply company.
The reason this is all coming out now may have to do with Kamba’s ex-wife. Prosecutors are investigating her for insurance fraud after she allegedly received a six-figure life insurance policy and produced a death certificate and funeral announcement for Kamba to get the money. At this time, it’s unknown whether or not prosecutors believe she had the documents faked or obtained via corrupt means.
Kamba’s parents fled Congo to go to Germany in 1986 but were deported in 2005. Kamba would’ve been deported too but was offered a contract by Schalke which gave him asylum and residency rights in order to stay in Germany. Kamba eventually returned to Congo but apparently made no secret that he wasn’t actually dead, even going so far as requesting to return to Germany in 2018, which brought him back to the country. Kamba hasn’t been charged, and it’s unknown if he was even aware of the situation, but he will be a witness in the case against his ex-wife.
Like everything else in 2020, this story is just plain bizarre.
[Bild/Photo: Getty Images]
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
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