Getting to know Tebatso Leboea, aka Leader

LESAOANA SEKETE

MASERU – The glitz and glamour of city life have always been the centre of his dreams, and Tebatso David Leboea finally got to live his dream.

Know within the entertainment industry as ‘Leader’, Tebatso is an actor, a model and radio presenter bred and brought up in the rural valleys of Majoe-matšo, Ha Lesibe, in the Berea district.

Despite growing up in rural Lesotho at the age of five Tebatso began showing zest for music and surrounded himself with its aura, unfortunately for him and many more of his peers growing up in this country then meant less or no opportunities at all.

But he never gave up, nothing could stop him from striving to realise his dream…he sang his lungs out through his primary and high school days.

Ambitious as any child of his age growing up, he dreamt of leaving his rural village to live in the city surrounded by multiple properties – busking in the glitz and glamour of city life.

‘‘It’s funny how now I would rather live in a farm or village than a city, I love the silence,” he says to Life&Style.

Following completion of his high school education, Tebatso enrolled with a higher learning institution in the middle of the South African city of Johannesburg.

‘‘I have genuinely forgotten the name of the institution; maybe that’s because six months after enrolling I learned it was a fly-by-night. We were scammed off funds our parents barely had, we filed a lawsuit against the institution but the school’s representative fled, ’’ he recalls with visible disdain.

“I then went on to study at Damelin correspondence college on a long distance learning programme where I studied radio broadcasting, during this time my family had moved to the Republic of South Africa.

Following the completion of my course I moved back to the Lesotho to pursue a career in radio, and I landed a job at Tšenolo FM where I worked for a period of eight months. I then headed back to South Africa on account of arising family issues,” he continues. Despite the rough ride in his journey, Tebatso’s dreams have since seen the light of day.

In 2018 he returned to Lesotho and joined Mxxl Radio where he is currently presenting the ‘Pula Mahlo’ programme on Saturdays from 6 to 9. This is a radio show that aims to give artists exposure and focuses on local information and entertainment. Also an actor, he landed a huge role of playing King Moshoeshoe I in a stage play by Bahale Arts and Development Centre.

Tebatso Leboea is also an independent model and deems modelling to be an art that speaks volumes “yet the majority of our people don’t consider it as such.” ‘‘The youth today need to learn that talent, discipline, consistency, passion and working smart are our currency and we need to nurture it on a daily basis.’’