HONOURING NDONGOZI
Hundreds pay tribute to homicide victim
“I told you, Coach, everyone loves Pancake!”
Tyson Ndongozi, a.k.a. Pancake, an offensive lineman with the North Gloucester Giants football club who earned the nickname by flattening opponents, used to repeatedly say that to team president and head coach, Chris Lalonde — always with a smile.
Ndongozi wasn't kidding, at least judging by the hundreds of friends, family, teammates and others who gathered on chairs and bleachers at Gil- O -Julien Park — the Giants' home field — on Friday for a celebration of life held in his honour.
Loris Tyson Ndongozi, 20, was shot and killed on the night of July 4 while playing basketball on an outdoor court at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School in Lowertown.
“My last memory of him will be him dancing on the field,” said Lalonde.
Ndongozi, teammates said, liked to let it all out and entertain others with his Dougie dance, earning him another nickname: Big Sexy.
“He was very outgoing,” said teammate Jarred Wilkinson. “Always a smile on his face. He was the type of guy to always tell you, `I love you.' I didn't say it back to him, but he knew I did.
“He was always supporting and looking after others rather than himself. He was there for everyone, making people laugh.
“I'm never going to forget him.” Sonjay Bromfield, who coached Ndongozi, described his death as “the saddest moment of my life.
“I'll always remember his dedication to everything he did. Whenever he was around, he always wanted to help and make things better, for whoever he was with and wherever he was at.
“That kid was passionate about everything he did.”
An avid photographer, Ndongozi had graduated from high school two weeks before his death, and was planning to attend College Notre Dame-de-Foy, near Quebec City, next month on a football scholarship.
“He had goals and ambitions,” said Karine Halle, who set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his family. “Nobody had anything negative to say about Tyson. He was the biggest gentle giant that everybody loved — and he had the best dance move.”
At Friday's celebration, which followed his funeral earlier in the day at Beechwood Cemetery, Ndongozi's football jersey — No. 60 — was framed and on display, along with helmets and photos. Family members sat together on a mobile stage, with some, including his great-uncle Henry Boyi and his mother, Louise Nkurunziza, speaking, with Boyi mentioning the irony of Ndongozi dying as he did, four years after leaving behind the violence of strife-torn Burundi for the safety of Canada.
Other speakers, including city Coun. Tim Tierney, who was asked by Ndongozi's family to offer a few words, talked of his comportment off the field as well as on, telling them, “You should be proud of the child you raised.”
Indeed, Ndongozi volunteered for numerous community efforts, including flood relief and the Ottawa Police Hoopstars, a group dedicated to building relationships among the city's diverse communities.
“He came to all our events,” said Const. Jafeth Maseruka. “He was full of energy and fun to be around.
“He got the energy up and improved the mood as soon as he showed up. Everybody got happier and things got better. There were times when I showed up feeling sluggish and thinking, `Oh, gosh, I've got to run the two-lap warmup,' and he comes in, full of energy and getting the DJ pumped up, and all of a sudden I'm in a better mood.”
Maseruka added that it's difficult to feel any celebration of life given the circumstances of Ndongozi's death, but that he hopes to take away the young man's positive attitude. “It was very infectious,” he said, “and it puts us all in a better place.”
Another of Ndongozi's mentors, offensive line coach Samuel Audain, agreed that Friday's ceremony was a difficult, but a necessary, one. “We have to. It's a way of honouring him. Tyson loved life, and being around his friends, his family, his coaches, his teammates, and he wouldn't want us to be so sad. He would want us to take a moment to get closer as a community, and really take in the fact that this happened.
“He may be in God's arms, but he's forever in our hearts.”
And like Lalonde, Audain recalled an oft-repeated phrase of Ndongozi's: “Let's go, champ, let's go!”
“He'd say it as we took the field, or when we were getting ready for a game. It was his upbeat, positive way of thinking, and I'll always hold that memory dear because he was a champion, through and through.”
He got the energy up and improved the mood as soon as he showed up. Everybody got happier and things got better.