Bissau the snob

Love him or hate him, Botswana’s notorious rich kid Bissau Gaobakwe is a constant source of envy and admiration. Lately he’s been on social media posting his rich clothes, watches, girlfriend’s new BMW and all other things lavish.

When spotted at one of the fanciest restaurants in town this week, the founder of Drugs Must Fall campaign had nothing to say but pearls of wisdom, and shared his story with this reporter. Clad in tight jeans, body-hugging white shirt, trendy sunglasses, gold rings and necklace, Bizzcat, as he is popularly known, was the centre of attraction.

He would try to avoid the interview saying his business flight leaves at night and that he must go and prepare for London. After half an hour, he finally agrees to be interviewed. Bissau’s philosophy is that ‘God is focused and the devil is destructive.’ This he says, teaches him to always move with God for his dreams to come true. He says his salvation is the reason he is doing well in life.

“To find eternal harmony in life, serve God’s will. Believe that he got your back and partner with him. You will see people loving you,” he says. He describes himself a giver at heart, saying that is what attracts people to him. “When you carry light, you attract people. People who don’t help don’t have peace,” he adds, further citing Bill Gates as a good example. Bissau continually thanks his late father, the prominent businessman Ophaketse ‘Uncle Parks’ Gaobakwe, for instilling in him the principle of hard work and not making him an entitled child.

He says he was always sent to wash their family cars, and eventually was running his own car wash. He shares that his father taught him not to be an employee. “At 23, I had my first mansion and I have had four BMWs so far,” he says. His take is that fathers should work hard for their children and leave them a good inheritance, and also teach them to work hard so that they do not turn out angry in life.

As for people who feel he is showy and arrogant, he responds that his father worked hard for his family. “It’s not my fault that other people’s fathers were lazy. My father was extremely hard-working and that means I had a double-kick,” he says. He explains that he ‘retired’ from working seven years ago and is currently focused on his drugs awareness campaign. He was previously involved in a chain of businesses including 63 Entertainment which was often credited for organising Miss Botswana pageant well.

He has also done property and communications businesses before. Drugs Must Fall Bissau has transformed his house in Phase 1 in Gaborone into a rehab centre, worth P8 million. He says that he used to make a lot of money from its rentals but has since told the tenants to leave. The rehab centre will be officially launched on June 30.

“I grew up with people that had talent but got faded because of drugs, so I want to help my community,” he says. But again, he says he has “done it all and has had a near-death experience.” Growing up, he says, his clique was associated with glamour hence he is promoting his Drugs Must Fall campaign with a glimpse of his finer things in life.

“People need to hear our testimonies because that’s the only way they can get healed. We have to create faith and hope among them,” he says. Bissau’s observation is that narcotics are trending in Botswana and that regardless of whether there is a recession or not, drugs will always rise. He says government does not know what to do with narcotics and that there is need for more resources to be distributed to help the situation. Commenting on the disgrace that he suffered when Thea Khama accused him of falsely associating her husband, tourism minister Tshekedi Khama with his drug awareness campaign, Bissau says what Thea said had nothing to do with the minister. “The story had nothing to do with Tshekedi, that’s why he never commented,” he says.

This was after Bissau had posted his photo with the minister and said they were partners. Actually, he says he gets along well with Tshekedi and has worked with him in his political journey before. Surprisingly, Bissau says his best friend is Itseng Kwelagobe, whom at one point he was accused of shooting. He would not want to dwell much in the past and could only say they have been best friends since they were five years old. “I’m most humble, cheerful, forgiving, listening and loving when I’m with him. Ours is a perfect story of forgiveness,” he says.