Music legend and fitness fanatic Kabelo Mabalane who celebrated 20 years of sobriety on Thursday said he did it through the grace of God.
The award-winning artist and music composer was admitted to a rehabilitation centre in 2002 on September 1 after revealing in a media conference that he was abusing drugs. The kwaito music legend and turned pastor has changed his life around by finding new purpose for it through focusing his attention on church, fitness and sport.
Speaking to Sowetan on Thursday, Mabalane, who is famously known as Bouga Luv, credits the change in life to the programmes he underwent during his stay at the rehabilitation centre.
“You will never win this war alone. It is the grace of God that empowers us. And through rehab providing solutions and projections that one needs to follow in order to stay sober I managed to do it. I hung on some of the suggestions that I learned at rehab for dear life. At rehab they speak about miracles of recovery and following principles and prescriptions. I think I have been experiencing the miracles of recovery for the [past] 20 years,” he said.
Mabalane was supposed to address Leondale High School pupils on Thursday but postponed his visit due to them writing preliminary exams. The high school trended on social media after school pupils were spotted in a video smoking dagga.
“If there is an opportunity to go to the school again I will do it. It has been something I have done a lot throughout my 20 years of experience and focus on staying clean. When I normally speak to young people I share my own weakness and struggles and in that way they can easily relate knowing that they are not alone.”
Mabalane also credits his former manager and close friend Lucas Mahlakgane for defeating drug addiction. Mahlakgane, founder and chairperson of World Changers Candidates, suggested to the artist he quit drugs otherwise “you will die”.
He held Mabalane’s hand as he went to rehabilitation and when he came out. Looking back to where the music star comes from, Mahlakgane is proud of the journey he has travelled. He said Mabalane has changed many people’s lives who struggled with addiction and inspired him to start his organisation.
“When we started the journey I told him that will never do this without God. That is why he found a spiritual home. I further told him that he needs to find a purpose and he began running to raise funds,” Mahlakgane said.
“As a result, he raised funds for a school in Limpopo that did not even have furniture. He ran to raise funds for many organisations.
“If I did not intervene, Kabelo would have died like others who died prematurely of drugs. He would not have had the wife and the kids he has today.”
Speaking at the funeral service of Tokollo Tshabalala on August 20, Mabalane alluded to boyhood activities with his TKZee band mate which gave rise to the beginning of his drug use. They were still teenagers at the time.
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