Mulama Explains Origin Of "Seppe" Nickname

He may have lost the pace, body and shape from his playing days but there is one thing that stuck with Simeon Mulama since then; his nickname.

Now a football analyst on radiojambo.co.ke, Mulama is rarely referred to by the names his parents gave him at birth but by his nickname, Seppe, which according to him very few people know how it came about.

Speaking to Radio Jambo, the now burly former midfielder of Mathare United and Harambee Stars had this to say about the origin of his nickname.

I have never talked about this before but the origin of my nickname Seppe is very simple and it may surprise many. Seppe is short for the Italian name Giuseppe which has the same meaning as the name Joseph.

I got the name while I was a student at Kakamega High School in the 1990s. I had just joined the school in 1994 and I was making a slow but steady breakthrough into the school's football team.

Senior players took note of my progress and seeing that I was becoming part of the team, they saw it fit to give me a nickname so that I can be like the rest of them.

Then one day out of the blues, my friends and teammates started calling me Giuseppe. The name was started by former Tusker captain Japhary Oyando. At that time, our attention was focused on the FIFA World Cup which was being held in the USA and Italy had this player named Giuseppe Signori.

Funny enough, I hear that Giuseppe Signori's is nicknamed "Beppe". I do not know how Italians got Beppe from Giuseppe. Anyway my friends started calling me Giuseppe but with time the name was shortened to Seppe and just like that I got a name that has stuck with me for over 20 years. Previously, only those I went to school with know how I got the name but now I bet that the whole world knows now that the"secret" is out.