11/12/2013
Jabu P**e shares his wayward experience in Giyani
Jabu P**e (left) shakes hands with Giyani High School principal Mr Edwin Chavalala after he motivated the school during a donation of soccer kit by two former scholars.
Date:
21 January 2013
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Becoming famous at the age of 18 is what destroyed him. This is what former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana soccer player, Jabu Mahlangu, famously known as Jabu P**e, told scholars at Giyani High School about the risks of life . He warned them to be careful when making decisions.
“I went to school just like you guys, but unfortunately I didn’t finish. I dropped out in grade 11 because of soccer. You know, I got promoted at eighteen with all the things going my way,” explained Mahlangu, saying it was difficult to think straight when overwhelmed by fame. Mahlangu was speaking during a donation of soccer kit by Mr Benny Makasani and his friend, Dr Tembani Mathonsi, to Giyani High School where they both matriculated. Despite fame, Mhalangu said one of the reasons he didn’t go back to school was that he was a breadwinner at home.
“I wanted to continue with schooling, but at the same time I needed to work so I could make a difference at home,” he said. He told the youngsters not to be swayed away from the right path by worldly things, just as it happened to him. “I played my first game and performed very well. I scored a winning goal for Chiefs, and then suddenly things changed,” he said. “Before I knew it, I was all over the newspapers on the following Sunday — people were talking about me. At that stage, many things were happening around me and I was not even aware that I was that good. To me, playing soccer was just part of doing what I loved.” “Within a short space of time I had gained many friends, millions of them, that I couldn’t even distinguish as real friends,” he said.
“It’s not easy to be a star. It takes years to go to the top, but it takes just seconds to go down.” He said he never thought that fame could change his life, as people swelled around him and pampered him with free stuff. “You know when you’re a star, you get everything free wherever you go — alcohol and many other things I can name. And I was not aware at that time that those people were actually killing me, until it was too late,” he said. However, despite his past wayward life, Mahlangu said he has changed. “I’m now a father of three kids and a responsible one,” he said seriously.
