Teboho “Mashwabana” Moloi was born into football royalty. He is the son of the Orlando Pirates legend Percy “Chippa-Chippa” Moloi, one of the best to have donned the famous black and white jersey emblazoned with the crossbones and skull. So, he had massive boots to fill.
As Blasé as the matador, the pin-up poster boy with silky dribbling skills, and an equally greasy perm, lived up to his father’s image like fish takes to water. He was not overwhelmed by the occasions and created a mouthwatering rivalry with Kaizer Chiefs’ wonderkid Doctor “16-Valve” Khumalo, whose ball-juggling trickery would leave veteran defenders flat on their buttocks.
To Moloi, now 56, the day 27 April 1994 means so much. It was not only about finally getting an opportunity to vote, even though he was unable to on the day – it was about the doors opening wide for many South African athletes to showcase their talents abroad and compete with world stars at international level.
Freedom Day brings special memories to Moloi, a darling of the Bucs die-hard supporters in the 1980s. Due to apartheid, when South African athletes and sportsmen and women were barred from competing in the international arena, the likes of Moloi and his peers only got an opportunity to showcase their talents overseas late in their careers.
Tebza Ngwana was 25 years old at the first democratic elections, and like millions of South Africans, he would kill to cast his first vote – but he was not able to. He was playing in Turkey for Gaziantepspor, and together with his teammate Steve Komphela, they were stuck in Gaziantep, the westernmost part of the country’s Southeastern Anatolia region.
They could only watch on TV as the historical and most poignant moment in the country was unfolding.
“We were in Gaziantep, and we could not vote because we did not have an embassy in that city. We were in awe because John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu and Fani Madida were also in Turkey and they were able to vote. They were in the big cities of Ankara and Istanbul, where there was a consulate. My brother, we were heartbroken. We wanted to take a flight to Istanbul, but our coach was going to fine us, and we were going to land in trouble,” Moloi opened up to Sunday World.
“We started watching the news from as early as 4am on CNN and EuroNews, and we saw long queues back home. It was a day of greatness, and from that day we could say that we were free. The apartheid system blocked many great players, especially the generation before us, from playing for big teams and also in tournaments like the Fifa World Cup,” Moloi added.
Moloi explains that he was the first person in the queue at his former school, the Isaacson Primary in Rockville, Soweto, to vote in the 1999 polls.
“To this day, I always go to my former school to vote. I do not worry about the long queues. I cannot miss the banter and the pranks while we wait – it just feels special.
“I want to thank our former president, Nelson Mandela, for the sacrifices he made so that people like myself could go play overseas. I played in Turkey and Colombia because of freedom and Mandela. I played against AC Milan and their coach Fabio Capello, who could still recognise me.
“Other stars in rugby, cricket, and athletics also realised their dreams and won gold medals because of freedom. It really opened the doors and exposed us to the world. I cannot thank enough those who made the dream happen, like Mandela – 27 April will always remain special, even if I did not vote in 1994,” he explained further.
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