Leadership Beyond the Church Walls: Thuto Gabaphete
At the age of 17, Thuto Tlotlego Gabaphete was elected and installed as the youngest Kalahari Conference YPD President. He served in this office from 2015-2019, completing a whole quadrennial in office.
During his term, Thuto led young people of the Kalahari Conference with great diligence and represented the Conference on the 15th Episcopal level, encompassing South Africa, Namibia, and Angola and on the Connectional level. He was a part of the team that took the first position in the Shark Tank Competition at the WMS & YPD Quadrennial Convention at Ohio in July 2019. Under his leadership, the Conference reached up to 450 YPDers in annual seminars, with a particular increase in the number of Allen Stars each year.
Beyond the walls of the AME Church, his leadership drive and determination got him elected as the president of the Student Representative Council at one of the internationally-recognised academic institutions, the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS).
Asking Thuto about the role of SRC in academic intuitions, he responded, “The SRC in South Africa is founded on an act of Parliament, the Higher Education Act. It is one of the bodies that all the Higher Education Institutions are obligated by law to have. At WITS University, I preside over a Council made of 22 other leaders representing different constituencies, e.g., postgraduates, people with disabilities amongst others. This also includes 12 other people I got elected through campaigning and robust political involvement. We are tasked as a Council to represent primarily the interests of all 39,000 students registered at WITS at all its four campuses around Johannesburg, these include social, financial, and academic matters affecting the students. We have the responsibility of representing these interests and views within the institution and in the general society.”
I asked Thuto what role the AME Church played in his leadership journey. He said, “It exposed me to not only what I am capable of but what humanity is capable of doing if it sets its mind to it. It taught me that regardless of how much or little faith you have in yourself, there is still a lot of input that one can still make to the betterment of what one is involved in… Essentially, it taught me how (emphasis on how) to speak.”
Thuto is also a member of the Kopano Youth Club, founded by the youth from the rural village of Morokweng in the North West Province, whose desire is to establish a facility that will channel the energies of students and youth towards positive development, including addressing the gap or challenges experienced by the students from Morokweng and neighbouring communities with regards to access to higher institutions of learning.
Thuto holds a degree in biological sciences majoring in biochemistry and physiology. He is currently studying towards a law degree (LLB). His long-term plan or interest is to be in the field of advocacy, particularly constitutionalism.
Thuto’s message to young people is to “believe in yourself even if you think you don’t have it in you. You sometimes cannot see what you have because you can’t see what other people see.”
One of the recent highlights of Thuto’s role was on 20 February 2020, when he was a part of a panel discussion “Looking East or West: The 4th Industrial Revolution in South Africa,” held at WITS University. The AME Church, in particular, the Kalahari Conference and the 15th Episcopal District, is proud of this leader and we pray for him as he continues to make an impact in society and minister beyond the walls of the AME Church.
