Benson Phuthego � An epitome of resilience

Thalefang Charles | Friday August 29, 2014 16:02

 

His is the face of a man who has overcome many challenges. He has overcome financial problems, which went public and threw him in the gutter. But, Benson is back. Like the phoenix, he has risen from the ashes. Like many other people who have been to hell and back, Phuthego talks in philosophical terms and mentions God a lot.

“Your script has long been written up there my brother, and pain is just temporary. Some people run to alcohol and drugs when in trouble. But during all that painful period I was in my utmost sobriety. I absorbed all the shock and never ran away from my troubles. I faced them like a man,” he proudly says.

But what happened? Three years ago, Phuthego was Botswana’s celebrity personality. He was a charming stud who attracted attention and was loved by many, as the Botswana Television (BTV) newsreader with the popular parting signature of ‘Itshalele ka kagiso’. He was also First National Bank’ Head of Service. Phutego drove around Gaborone city’s potholed roads in a snazzy BMW convertible. Quite frankly, he was the envy of city’s executives.

He freelanced as Master of Ceremonies at high profile corporate events where he traded with his “timber”voice that debuted on Radio Botswana’s Newsreel programme during his Tirelo Sechaba days. He has also worked for Yarona FM. The flourishing man also ran a booming truck business on the side. But it is this business that messed things up for him.

 “A Motswana came to me telling me about this lucrative contract in Richard’s Bay. I jumped into the contract but I was never paid for six months.

My drivers ended up abandoning trucks there because there was no payment. This was the source of all my financial woes,” he says.

Curiously, Phuthego said he quit his bank job when he was faced with that financial problem. He owed his employer and believed quitting his job was the best decision.

“When you are a man and you see that you are getting into financial trouble, you want to be alone. I didn’t want a situation where I would put my employer into disrepute because of my financial situation,” he explains.

After three months of battling the Richard’s Bay loss, struggling to see the light of the tunnel, Phutego went into another bogus costly deal.

“It appeared legit, there was paperwork and I was satisfied that it would be a good deal”, says Phuthego. The bad deal exacerbated his debt situation. His property was attached as creditors tried to recover their money. His name appeared in the ‘matter between’ pages of newspapers. He did not even have money for legal representation. The creditors took his house, trucks and luxury car. In the midst of these woes, his father passed on.

 “It was a painful period. People kept calling and asking me whether I have seen ads in the newspapers about my auctioning,“ he recalls. His friends deserted him. His biggest worry was that it affected his loved ones.

“I was more worried about how this was affecting the people whom I love-family. I did my best to stay strong and resilient. Many people were already writing my obituary. They thought I would commit suicide. But I was raised by a God fearing family with good values,” he says.

Why were people celebrating his misery? Phuthego believes that Batswana are generally not happy with the successes of fellow citizens. 

“A lot of our people are angry with themselves. They would rather help a foreigner than a fellow Motswana,” he says.

He gets into preaching mode. “Even God said, ‘how can you claim to love me though you don’t know me, if don’t love your neighbour’. To laugh at somebody who has a challenge is evil. In life everyone goes through challenges. It might be a financial problem, the loss of a loved one, chronic disease, divorce or family disintegration,” he says.  Phuthego says the most important thing about challenges is surviving them.“I came out of my troubles because I am driven by passion and powered by resilience,” he declares.

How did he come out of his woes? It was the art to the rescue. “I locked my qualifications and business papers in a box and used the currency of my talent to muscle my way back from the gutter,” he says.

He left the corporate deals and went into a recording studio. Even this was an accident. He found himself inside Tshepho Lesole studio and did a dedication poem for Zebras during its maiden encounter in the AFCON finals. A week later there were more poems and an album was finalised. He titled his first album ‘Life’. It was a fusion of poetry and music, laced with inspiration from South Africa’s Mzwaki Mbuli’s artistry.

He mentions stars of legendary Radio Botswana’s folklore programme Dipina Le Maboko like Ponatshego Mokane, Ratsie Setlhako, and Sekokota Kaboyamodimo as his local inspirations. When Phuthego’s album reached the airwaves there was excitement and he later won awards. Phuthego was back.

He appeared on the cover of Kutlwano magazine with a title of “To Hell And Back”.  Life is good now. He is getting bookings left, right and centre. Looking back, Phuthego believes God was demonstrating His power with him.

“I don’t think I am ordinary. I am a special breed. As I grow, I will become vintage. I love life and I do not rely on favours. Everything that I do in life is of self-application,” he boldly says.

He concedes that he made mistakes he owned up to. He believes his problems came at the right time when he was able-bodied to stand up shake off dust and continue.

“That curve came at the right time when I still had the energy to run around and dust off myself and continue the race. It was a learning curve,” he says.

Phutego says nowadays he avoids negative people and is intolerant of gossipmongers.

He discloses that one of the biggest driving factors during his troubles was the birth of his son, Lerako. He speaks affectionately about his three-year-old son and even shows off his pictures and videos.

As a parting shot, Phutego says, “To say you are living, you must have character, natural substance character. It has nothing to do with materialism. Tell me, if all your material things go away, who are you?”