Sekgoma is Botswana's leading music promoter

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Thursday November 12, 2009 00:00

For over 30 years, Tebogo Sekgoma of STS Promotions has been the country's leading promoter when it comes to organising big shows.

Sekgoma has also been responsible for exposing some of the top artists to the entertainment fraternity. 

During his festivals, he always reserved a slot for local artists.  Some of the artists that he has exposed include Vee Sento. 

Speaking in an interview, he recalled that he was the first promoter to feature  Vee in a  festival when he was still an unknown quantity at St Joseph's College.  Vee was recommended to Sekgoma by his nephew, Kweku Seeletso. 

Sekgoma has always had a soft spot for local music even at a time when it was not recognised.  He regarded his festival then as a talent search for local groups.  'The focus was on South African groups but I always made sure that I included local artists.  I had a hand in identifying some of the top local artists.

'My emphasis has always been that artists should take the centre-stage,' he says.
He had always felt that Maxy Sedumedi would make it big.  He recalled that at some stage the late South African songbird, Brenda Fassie was so impressed by Maxy after a joint performance that Fassie declared that even if God took her, she would die a happy person knowing that there was somebody who would replace her.

Sekgoma has worked with local artists like Franco Lesokwane and Alfred Mosimanegape.  He also promoted old groups, including Tribal Monks and T-Joint.  Sekgoma was also involved with the defunct Afro Sunshine band.

Sekgoma was responsible for bringing international stars into the country, including Shalamar, Commodores, Marxi Priest,  Shabba Ranks, Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Rebecca Malope, Chicco and many others.

The Shabba Ranks show in the 1990s was a financial disaster for Sekgoma.  He said this was due to the fact that the venue and date of the show were changed at the last minute. 

But Sekgoma has stopped Showbiz promotions because of the new liquor regulations, under which festivals must close by midnight.  Although he supports the regulations, he feels that they should be relaxed when it comes to  festivals.   In his view, the festivals could be used to promote local talent.

As a result, the promoters should be allowed to operate up to the early hours. Talking from experience, Sekgoma says people do not come early to music shows so to start before the hall is full can be crippling financially.

'We need to find a solution to promote local talent.  The opening hours for festivals should be extended,' he appeals.

He also wants amphitheatres to be put up in strategic locations to used for promoting local music. 

Sekgoma feels that he could negotiate with the government because he is an old hand in the game.

Sekgoma is a staunch supporter of President Ian Khama's initiatives and his anti-alcohol stance.  He says he has seen so many people 'who have been ruined by the bottle', adding that there is a need to drink responsibly. 

He believes that alcoholic abuse has also contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Botswana.

In the past, Sekgoma had contributed in the fight against alcohol by staging festivals to raise awareness about the scourge.  He worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. 

Sekgoma staged his first festival in 1978 during the Inter-Varsity Games featuring Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. 

He organised the festival with the likes of Michael Mothobi and Oupa Tshetlhana. 
During the old days, they used to host shows by the Gaborone Dam side. 

He says during those days there was only one radio station, RB 1.   So you could not rely on radio advertisements for promoting a show. 

But at times, one could go and negotiate for a slot at the national radio station.

However, the promoters were also innovative when it came to marketing their shows. 

Some of the avenues that they used were nightclubs.  They would ask the DJs to play the music of artists who were coming for their shows.  The DJs would also announce the pending festivals.   Another common form of advertising was by placing banners all over town. 

Sekgoma promoted shows throughout the country and this meant that he was always on the road.  Two weeks before the show, he would be moving around to market the event. 

Sometimes just like politicians, he would drive around announcing the impending show with a loud speaker mounted on his vehicle.