Nelson Mandela, a legend in whose symbolic shadow we walk in today once said, “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.” These words are a perfect description of the 24 year old Ts’olo Kabane.
Ts’olo can be defined as persistent, goal driven and patriotic. Lesotho has so much to watch out for, and without any further ado, allow me to introduce to you a man whose entire life is dedicated to serving his country.
T’solo Kabane was born and raised in Maseru, Lesotho. He started primary school in Phethahatso English Medium then Lesotho High School. This astute young man then decided to acquire an IB Diploma at Machabeng College after which he enrolled in the University of Johannesburg to study BCom Law which he completed in 2020.
His path was already set. He reports that from a tender age, he was always fascinated about the world of gavels and advocate gowns. He was curious to know how he could change Lesotho and knew that he had to learn about policies and government structures before he could fulfill his purpose. This is why the choice to study BCom Law was a no-brainer to him.
Growing up, he knew that his way of thinking was not common because the he had a desire to become a catalyst for change. He used to get extremely frustrated when he saw how other countries saw Lesotho as mediocre because of the socioeconomic stagnation that was treated as a norm.
He realized that the reason this problem existed was a political leadership crisis that he felt existed. In his opinion, this existed because young people are not committed to being part of the change they want to see.
“We need a generation of people who are committed to see change.”
His first project directed to getting young people involved in being part of the change he earnestly wanted to see was a club he started in high school called the Reality Youth Movement. It was a space for like-minded patriots to discuss how they can collectively better Lesotho.
He reports that although it did not last, it gave him a significant amount of lessons about the skill-set needed by every leader. This small club cultivated the patriot in him.
As time went on, towards the end of his IB journey, he and a few friends finally formed an organization called Transform Lesotho Initiative. He serves in this organization as the President. The objective of this organization is to teach young people how to live and walk from a place of patriotism.
In his own words, “We felt that we lacked people who truly loved Lesotho.” They interacted with different types of people to teach youth how to become more involved in bringing socioeconomic change.
The biggest success of this organization so far is to unite young people. This is measured by how much after their #BACHASHUTDOWN protest, youth actually started conversations about needing to be more politically active. In addition, this organization opened the minds of youth to realizing how much their silence was a reason for the prevalence of utter socioeconomic stagnation in Lesotho.
T’solo reports that he still has a long way to go regardless of the significant strides he has made in advocating for a youth inclusive governance in Lesotho. Actually, he has suspended the pursuance of his second degree in BCom Law. This decision was made based on his desire to become a source of help to Basotho youth in the 2022 elections.
“I need to see how I can be of service to young people in the elections because we do not want a situation where post elections, youth grievances are still prevalent.”
He has taken it upon himself to offer young people education about the need to vote and how they can become part of the change they want to see.
It would be unfair to conclude this edition without indicating that LESOTHO NEEDS MORE YOUTH LIKE T’SOLO KABANE. It is utterly remarkable that he is standing up to become a symbol of change in Lesotho and takes it upon himself to get more youth to vote.
It is obvious that there are many people who are yet to sing praises about the revolution of this young man. Until then, we can only urge him to spread his wings to fly, after all, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!