14 Aug 2024

Kabelo Tiro, otherwise known as Scavenja in music circles, has released a song titled Sebaka sa gogo leboga in honour of Botswana’s sprint sensation, Letsile Tebogo .

The Kanye-born athlete recently made history by being the first male Botswana and African athlete to win a gold medal in 200m at the Olympics.

Speaking in an interview, Scavenja said he was deeply inspired by Tebogo's performance, and that he composed the song an hour and a half after the race. 

“I was inspired by the gold medal and the remarkable way Letsile ran,” he said

The lyrics of the song ‘Ke a le go ngaparetsa leina le la go tshwanelwa 1946, o ba file mokwatla wa lena phokojwe,’ translate to ‘the time to thank you man has come.I salute you, and the name 1946 suits you’. 

The song notes the time 19.46 that Tebogo ran in the 200m race to secure the first gold medal.

Scavenja emphasised that the song celebrated Tebogo’s unique achievement of winning a gold medal. 

Scavenja said he hoped the song would resonate with Batswana across social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook.

Furthermore, he said he hoped it would become a symbol of appreciation, not only for Tebogo, but also for other athletes.

He said Batswana had embraced the song and were dancing to it on social media platforms, where those who hadn’t seen it before were now joining in.

Scavenja said he had made it freely available on his Facebook page. 

He emphasised the importance of supporting local athletes. He also expressed his pride in all the athletes and joy in seeing the way Batswana  were rallying behind them. ENDS