13 Sep 2022

As a former drug addict, Leonard Modise will always be grateful and treasure the moment he first met Tshepang Mabaila.

 To him, Mabaila is a lifesaver. Narrating his ordeal, the former karateka admits without much probing that Mabaila found him an emotional wreck. Physically, he was a piece of junk.

Seeing this, Mabaila and some of his colleagues could not help asking if they could take him home.

However, before they could take him home, they had to get him a proper haircut. It was also obvious that he was on habit forming drugs, prompting Mabaila to take him for a quick medical checkup.

“I only remember being taken to a doctor and that is the last thing I remember.

The next thing, I woke up at Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital and headed straight to the nurses’ room where they confirmed that indeed I was at Sbrana and that I was brought in an ambulance,” he says.

Modise does not recall how he ended up at Lobatse but suspects that the first doctor he met in Gaborone must have sedated him.While at Sbrana, the 24-year-old Modise says he conformed to all protocols until he was discharged notwithstanding that at some point Mabaila and his team became a little hesitant to apply for his Omang and passport to enable his transfer for rehabilitation in South Africa.

However, Modise says he was happy that all government agents who dealt with Mabaila were very helpful and getting all his documents did not take long.

Off he went to South Africa, landing at Addiction Treatment Centre in Benoni, where he was to spend some considerable time there.

“There, I met a social worker by the name of Lunga who together with a psychiatrist and a doctor assessed me.

So, there I was but I am happy to be back home after completing the programme,” says Modise nonchalantly.

Incidentally, Modise is quick to warn that if there is anyone contemplating on taking drugs, thinking that ‘it is ayoba’, then they should think again.

“It is very easy to start but again it is very difficult to quit drugs. So, my advice to people is that, never take drugs,” cautions Modise.

Drugs, he observes, destroy one’s life and health in general. Notwithstanding, Modise is confident that one day he will become an ambassador against drugs, educating people about the dangers of taking them.

“Growing up without a parent, is a challenge. You see, my mother respected me and I respected her. She was my pillar of strength but passed on in 2016. I had to deal with the loss rather painfully,” laments Modise.

He says he joined karate after losing his mother to try and regain his confidence because it was not easy to come to terms with life without his mother.

“In karate, I ended up in the national team where I met different characters, but the reason I was no longer active in sport was that I started schooling at the University of Botswana upon which I decided to pay more attention to my education,” reckons Modise.

Nonetheless, his wish is to go back to karate and will be happy to be going back to the University of Botswana to complete his degree after drugs nearly destroyed his life.

“I left when I was doing year two, so I don’t think this time it would be a problem to complete my studies. I am a new creation, so nothing is going to stop me,” vows Modise.

For Mabaila, he reckons that what motivated him to help Modise was after he posted pictures depicting his life before drugs and after on social media.

“On social media, it was also stated that he was our hero in karate and he was also a top achiever, so we felt that we should help him and make a difference,” he notes with a sense of rectitude.

Mabaila says it was not even easy to make all the arrangement to take him for rehabilitation. Nonetheless, he explains that he could pick there was something bothering Modise but at the time he felt it was not the right moment to say it out.

“On the other hand, we could see that Modise was willing to reform but there was something bothering him,” says Mabaila.

Conversely, what gave him comfort was that when they left for South Africa, Modise was eager to quit drugs.

“When we got there, reality immediately sunk that now he was getting into rehab and we fought for some minutes but it was short and he relented,” recalls Mabaila.

He says Modise settled well in rehab as he was always given positive feedback.

“He never fought with anyone. He was cooperative with everyone and made a lot of friends. In rehab, you are not allowed to have your phone.

 It is only you or else you will be glued to television all day,” notes Mabaila.

Mabaila says Modise left for rehabilitation in February and returned home in August and he was now back at the University of Botswana where he resumed his Bachelor of Sciences studies. They have also communicated with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development to re-sponsor him. ENDS