Overcoming blindness to record music

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Staff Writer | Tuesday April 16, 2013 00:00

 

Why would he not be that ambitious if he took part in the same competitions as now renowned athletes like Gable Garenamotse and Botswana's world champion, Amantle Montsho?  He was always winning races and his prospects looked bright until one fateful evening when he was brutally attacked by savage thugs who left him for dead.Luckily, he was still alive the following morning when he was found, though the vicious attack left him blind.It was on January 16, 2004 at his home village of Gumare after Sekgwa had just turned 16 when he met his sad fate. The day was like any other.

'I vividly remember the events of the day. I was sent to buy a candle from a nearby tuckshop at around 8pm and a few metres from home, I met a group of people, four men and three women. As I approached, they formed a line across the small passage I was walking through and one of them asked why I was not greeting them. I humbly greeted them and the next thing I felt something hit my head on the right side and a few seconds later, felt a sharp instrument pierce my left eye and they left,' Sekgwa remembered. In deep pain, young Sekgwa tried to shout for help but perhaps he was too injured to make any alarming noise. As he heard his attackers walk away, he felt a chill down his spine. He feared that no one would find him in time to save his life.

His fears turned partly true. He was not found until the next morning. He bled the whole night with little hope of survival for he had sustained serious head injuries after he was hit and kicked around before being stabbed in the eye. 'I think they thought I was dead so they dragged me under some shrubs which I think made it difficult for passer-by to see me,' he said. In the morning, someone saw the gruesome scene and rushed to alert Sekgwa's mother who did not realise that her second born son was not home that night.

His mother's cries pierced through the injured Sekgwa's heart 'deeper than the knife itself,' according to him. He was to endure a distressful three months in hospital. The physical pain he suffered on the night of the attacked could not match the emotional turmoil he went through after doctors told him he had lost his sight. He felt his world crashing down. A few days later, he managed to defeat the haunting spirits and was ready to face the world again though he still had three months of hospital stay. Once out, it was another challenge. He had to learn to walk with a stick and would need a sight guide everywhere he went. As if that was not distressing enough, the young man would later face an even bigger challenge - rejection from the community including some family members.  'From that time, I started to connect with God without anyone encouraging me to do so. I believed if he had prevented my death after such a dangerous attack, he would facilitate my coping and here I am today,' he said cheerfully.

His assailants were arraigned before Maun Magistrate Court in 2005 after he was discharged from hospital but the case did not proceed beyond a few appearances. While the case was on going, he was in the process of finding a school for the blind. He was eventually admitted at Pudulong Rehabilitation Centre in Mochudi. He informed Gumare Police of the development and they promised to transport him back to Maun for the trial but to date, nothing has happened. 'When the case was adjourned, I was informed that it would return to court in two months time. A few days before the set date, I phoned Gumare Police again and was given the same answer. Months later, I made another enquiry and I was told the officer leading the case had been transferred and no one cared to tell me what should happen in those circumstances. I have since decided to just leave it,' he conceded. Letting go of the past has clearly helped the 26-year-old prevail over many challenges of his new life. He passed his music course at Pudulogong and released his debut album Bontlenyane.  The afro-pop composition is only made of love songs and nowhere in the record has Sekgwa tried to relate his life situation.

'I have embraced life. Feeling sorry for myself would not help. I always try to cheer myself up. I really do not see myself as a different person from the next person. I believe all we need to achieve our goals is love and that is what I am trying to teach people,' he said. Indeed Sekgwa is living a normal life. Although he is not working, he is renting a room in Tlokweng which he shares with his little brother Lopang who doubles as his guide.  However, he is quick to point out that while he needs Lopang's support to cope in some instances, he can do most things on his own. He can cook his own meal, do laundry and walk alone. 'I can move from here to town alone. I would ask for help here and there but I would do most of the journey myself,' he said confidently.

Though visually impaired, Sekgwa does not need help to use a cellphone. He can scroll down his phone and easily identify a name on display and the number. He can also send text messages from his handset without help.Because Sekgwa believes he should be in charge of his destiny, he uses his guitar as a major source of income. Apart from performing at private functions, he often plays at malls for as little as P5 per song. These activities have helped him pay the P700 rent for his humble room in Tlokweng. Because of financial difficulties he was only able to cut 50 copies of his debut album released in January. He intends to cut another batch and hopes to raise enough with his live performances. Like he demonstrated in the album, Sekgwa believes in true love.Unfortunately he lost his true love two years back when his Nigerian girlfriend Dolly returned home. 'I miss her a lot. We met in Thamaga after I had performed a special composition at a wedding. She sort of liked me and after a few months of phone calls and chatting, we became an item. Then two years ago, she left to take part in a beauty contest back home and I lost my phone with her contacts and that was it. I still believe one day she will return to me,' he said.Sekgwa is not only crying for love. He needs someone to help him advance his music career.