Former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs winger, Kgaogelo Sekgotha, has been discreetly admitted to the Hope of Achievers Rehabilitation Centre, situated in Segwashi village, east of Polokwane in Limpopo in a bid to blow a final whistle against his substance abuse.
The 27-year-old, who is currently playing for Northern Cape club Upington City in the Motsepe Foundation Championship is alleged to have succumbed to the shackles of substance abuse, particularly marijuana, from which he is striving to liberate himself.
According to sources close to the player, his family and intimate friends grew increasingly worried about Sekgotha’s declining football career and attributed it to his uncontrollable substance use, prompting them to seek assistance from the rehabilitation centre.
“We acted promptly in accordance with his family’s request, and our team located him at a venue where he was engaged in drinking with friends. Our security personnel acted decisively while he was preoccupied there and escorted him to the centre,” stated Watson Luandi, the owner of the rehabilitation centre.
Luandi said as the owner of the centre, which operates from a repurposed old clinic provided by the Limpopo government, they had been aware of Sekgotha’s situation for some time, but had opted to wait until he returned home from Northern Cape.
“He returned to the province following the conclusion of the season, and we seized the opportune moment to bring him to the centre,” added Luandi, who established the centre in January this year.
Sekgotha, who hails from Moletjie, near Seshego, has joined former Mamelodi Sundowns luminary, Lerato Chabangu, who was admitted in February and is gradually recuperating from issues related to alcohol dependency.
He also joined AmaZulu FC’s 17-year-old reserve side midfielder, Yamkela Phalane.
Hailing from Vosloorus in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, Phalane was confirmed to have been admitted to the centre a month ago.
Much like his counterpart Sekgotha, the national under-17 team player is currently navigating the withdrawal phase.
Raised by a single mother, Paulinah, Sekgotha’s football journey commenced at Polokwane Academy, where he was among the players at its inception in 2012.
The academy’s owners subsequently acquired the status of Rospa United, a team competing in the Safa Limpopo’s ABC Motsepe League.
After five years of a commendable career in the amateur ranks, Sekgotha was signed by FC Stumbra, a Kaunas-based club competing in the A Lyga, the premier tier of Lithuanian football, in 2017. Two years later, he was transferred to Victoria FC in Portugal, where he made his professional debut in the Primeira Liga in 2019, only to return to South Africa in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
His individual accolades during his tenure in the A Lyga include being named Young Player of the Month in May 2018 and winning the Lithuanian Cup with Victoria in 2017.
Having harboured a lifelong aspiration to succeed in the premier soccer league, Sekgotha realised this dream when he was signed by the now-defunct Bidvest Wits on January 19, just prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic two months later.
He was signed by Kaizer Chiefs in July 2021.
Two years after showcasing his potential to the nation’s football community while donning the colours of the illustrious Amakhosi, where he captivated the attention of both young and old fans alike, Sekgotha, who made his Bafana Bafana debut in 2019 during a Cosafa Cup match against Uganda, was released from Chiefs at the beginning of August 2023, leading him to join Stellenbosch FC.
His current club, Upington City, encountered significant challenges in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, narrowly avoiding relegation in the final matches of the 2024/25 season.
