He has great memory. Tell him a thing today and, years later, he will recount it to you in detail. This has proved a world of difference for him especially when hosting programmes on the former Television Malawi (TVM) in its inception years.

He calls himself a powerful weapon of information. People call him a walking music encyclopedia for his rich memory on music and artists. His name is Sam Malunga.

This is the name that needs no reminder for those who followed TVM in its early days. He was the brains behind some popular programmes, particularly, African Stars.

The music programme used to attract a lot of attention as Sam Malunga, going by the nickname Mbalame Yakumadzi, took viewers on a memory lane, providing strictly indigenous African music while narrating in detail stories behind such stars and their music.

He also hatched the must-watch Music Splash which later went on to be hosted by Geoffrey Kapusa a.k.a Mr Splash.

Although he retired, he built himself a name which rings on almost ten years after he resigned from his job.

One unique thing about him is that, during his porgrammes, he never left his viewers wanting on crucial information. He would do a lot of research and, in addition, he has big memory and explains things at the click of the finger.

"It's like a big memory card. I rarely forget," he says.

He tells a story of how, while at school, he would not take down any notes. All he would do was listen attentively, and everything would be inscripted on his 'big memory card'.

No wonder that at TVM he would host programmes without referring to any script.

Malunga was born on November 1, 1967 in Thyolo and was baptized the same year at Adololata Parish. He is a Catholic.

His father worked in Thyolo as a Clinical Officer at that time but being in the health sector, he ended up getting transfers now and then, a development which led to Malunga attending different schools in the country.

He went to Chilinde in Lilongwe from where he got selected to Robert Blake Secondary School.

In 1986 when his father retired, he went to Balaka Secondary School. While at Robert Blake he had developed diabetes and this forced him to miss classes most of the times.

He ended up running his mothers shop after missing classes for one whole year in 1988.

It was then that he later started getting involved in music and learnt some instruments through reading books. He says he fell in love with music because of the exploits of Likhubula River Jazz Band and Spearhead Strings where he watched guitarists such as Nasau Nkukupa.

After a break from school, he went back to Lirangwe Dec and later St Charles Lwangwa where he found himself in the same class with music star Lucius Banda.

With a passion for arts alongside Lucius, he got involved in drama, participating in the Association of the Teaching of English in Malawi (Atem).

He recalls writing a play titled Calamity Upon Women which did well at the regional finals. He did his form four at Blantyre Commercial before going for his tertiary at Humbu Business College where he pursued marketing.

As he was waiting for other opportunities, he continued to write plays for different schools before forming his own group in 1997 known as Venus Theatre but it later died a natural death due to what he termed financial problems.

After undergoing several interviews, he was successful and later went to Namibia on 29thNovember 1996 where he learnt more to do with directing, producing and editing.

"I met producer Willie Ngwende who taught me the techniques in music production and hosted a programme known as Penduka. It is this programme which gave me an insight into Music Splash. I also gathered a lot of songs like those of Keith Sweat," he says.

He came back in January the following year and went through several other trainings with Thomson Foundation, UNESCO, Douglas Hill and Olivier Riche before TVM was launched on 1st April 1999.

He says his nickname Mbalame Yakumadzi, has significance after watching the fish eagle which catches fish in the lake and fly all the way to give it to its young ones. For him, this meant digging for information and giving it to the public.

"You may recall that during that time we did not have internet and so to get information, I relied much on magazines and interaction with some Congolese and one of them was Papa Zozo Mubali. He is the one who gave my son a name and brought Bolingo Stars to Malawi," says Malunga.

After his retirement at TVM where he says he saw no future, he joined an international entertainment promotion company and brought musical groups such as Kijito Nyama Lutheran Choir.

He later went to Zambia where he worked for a short stint and promoted a musician before joining Diginitus International where he was employed as Coordinator and initiated several HIV/Aids programmes.

Malunga says he has also been involved in part-time jobs with radio stations like Joy FM and lately he hosts a programme Pakhonde with Willie Soko on MBC Radio One.

Malunga says he went through many problems including being fired on a hospital bed and, therefore, has no desire for formal employment.

Currently staying in Chimwankhunda, Malunga's free time sees him watching and listening to music and takes time to play the guitar. That's the life of the talented man. If you were to visit him today, you would be surprised how much information on music he still carries about with him.