BUS OPERATORS MOURN SEABELO

Deceased transport business mogul, Kenneth Seabelo Tlhaselo of Seabelo Express was a very competitive businessman who never wanted to be outclassed in the industry, reminisces his business associate Tshesebe Johnson Motlogelwa of TJ Motlogelwa’s Express.

The news about the death of his old friend has hit him like a tonne of bricks; this was a man whom he witnessed start his business from scratch until it flourished and became very popular throughout the country.

Seabelo, as he was affectionately known, was his buddy and very fond of addressing him (Motlogelwa) as his uncle. They worked together for many years and helped each other improve their fleet throughout the years.

Motlogelwa recalls one time when he went to Brazil and bought two luxurious bus coaches and Seabelo was in awe but never told him that he was impressed.

Instead he also travelled to Brazil and asked that they make him a more sophisticated bus, a double-decker. But what he did not know was that Motlogelwa too, had put in an order for a double-decker.

Once manufacturing of the double-deckers was complete and they were shipped to Botswana, Seabelo was shocked to find another double-decker carrying Motlogelwa’s names.

“He was so shocked and said to me, monna kante wabo o dirileng? Kana ne kere ke go pota ka ko pele kana di coach tsele tsa gago di nkidibaditse maloba. He was such a lover of beautiful things,” Motlogelwa said this week

laughing uncontrollably as he remembered Seabelo’s character.

Motlogelwa said Seabelo was always eager to try out new business ideas, he remembered how he (Motlogelwa) refused to buy trucks at a time when Segwana company needed transportation services. After hearing what Segwana wanted trucks, Seabelo wasted no time and that is how Seabelo Carriers was birthed.

But one thing that Motlogelwa admired most about Seabelo was making the safety of customers a priority. This, he did by hiring professional drivers at all times and this is why his buses were hardly involved in road accidents.

“Whenever he heard that there had been an accident, Seabelo would be very worried about passengers more than anything, he always told me that we need to take care of our clients because we take their money,” he said.

Chairman of Botswana Bus Operators Association, Tirafalo Mponang of Thipe’s Transport said he met Seabelo in the 70s when he (Mponang) was working at the bank. They also crossed paths several times as football players, Mponang played for Randall Aces in Gaborone and Seabelo for Mokgosi Fighters in Ramotswa.

He used to help him with all things financial so that he was able to buy his buses and they clicked so much that when he left the bank to further his studies, Seabelo got frustrated by the service he received at the bank.

“He came to me at school and I was forced to go back to the bank and help him. When I finished my studies and got ready for promotion, Seabelo told me that my career had no future, I should abandon banking and join him in the transport business,” Mponang recalled.

He threw him a curve ball and the rest is history. Mponang joined the transport business, firmly believing that the returns were greater than those of working for a bank.

He described Seabelo as a man who loved people.

“All the things you see happening were his ideas. He is the man known for giving his customers snacks and water when boarding his buses. He gave his employees bonuses, and the most humbling one being that people with disabilities should not pay bus fare.”

Seabelo, he said, was not only kind to his customers, he extended the gesture to other bus drivers. He was not selfish. If his bus was Francistown-bound, he would not steal customers headed to different destinations, if anything he would take them to the right bus to avoid friction.

Charles Kapela Mahube of Mahube Express was lost for words at news of Seabelo’s demise. “I really have nothing much to say. His death shocked me. We are mourning a great man. He was wonderful in all aspects.”

Mahube said as one of those who came into business before Seabelo, he watched him grow his business from the 70s with small buses to owning large capacity carrying buses. And all of it was achieved through dedication and determination.