Mwikuta was born in Ndola on 20 June 1941 and was brought up by his elder brother after losing both parents at the age of two. He went to Chimoto and Fiwale Mission Schools for his primary education before moving to Bancroft (Chililabombwe) in 1957 where he joined the mine. He first played schools football and then joined Bancroft Blades, graduating to the first-team by 1958 as a full-back or half-back. In the same season, he was chosen to represent the Rest of Northern Rhodesia against Katanga in Elizabethville in Congo and from then on was a permanent fixture in the Northern Rhodesian or Zambian sides.Anon. "America Here We Come – Howard Mwikuta, Captain of Zambia and Broken Hill Warriors" Times of Zambia, 11 January, p.10
