27 Sep 2018

For Eight years, Mr Kagiso Lekote led a life of crime that began at the age of 16.

When he dropped out of school, Mr Lekote, became involved in dagga smoking, gambling and theft.

In the process, he accumulated debts because he borrowed money in order to feed his smoking and drinking habits.  

Mr Lekote said in an interview that he was eventually caught with dagga and sentenced to prison for the first time.

He served his two-year sentence and was out in the streets again.

He said he stayed away from criminal activities for a while.

“Life was hard, I was unemployed and depended on my mother for everything” he said.

As fate would have it, it did not take long before Mr Lekote was into gambling and alcohol abuse again.

Mr Lekote said he committed another crime and was arrested.

He was later sentenced to maximum prison in Gaborone.

Although not keen to reveal the details that led to his second arrest, he said it was during his second incarceration that he changed his perspective about life.

 
Being an ex-convict can bring shame, self-doubt or even low self-esteem after release.

Such was not the case for Mr Lekote who was in the maximum prison for more than five years.

Being put in maximum prison was a wake-up call for him.

He said it was then that he knew he had to change his ways.

Mr Lekote said it was during his sentence that he was chosen for the lessons in upholstery.

“We were taught all procedures of mending chairs that included sofas and car seats” he said.  

“I did not know anything about upholstery but when it was introduced to me, I developed interest” he said.

Mr Lekote said it was then that the business he now owns was born, adding that he started having ideas of how he was going to do the business and plans of executing his strategies.

He said upon his release in 1996, his mother bought him a machine that he would use for his upholstery business and he started business immediately.

“I started by going around my neighbourhood in Peleng telling people of what I do” he said.

Mr Lekote said although people responded positively, some who knew him were skeptical as they found it hard to believe that he was a changed man.

He did not let that discourage him and he kept doing a good job for his clients.

He had to prove to people in his neighbourhood that indeed he was a changed man.

“I worked hard not only to establish my business but also to build a good reputation for myself,” he said.

With time the business took off and he eventually left his mother’s home to live on his own.

Currently, Mr Lekote operates his business from home and has built a solid clientele.

He said he only markets his business through word of mouth.

“When I do a good job for one client, he tells another person and eventually many people get to know about the business,” he said. Mr Lekote has urged the youth to focus on their studies, stay away from criminal activities and do things that would better their lives. ENDS