Mr Louis Thabethe from Standerton is a familiar figure in certain circles and is worth his weight in gold for those not knowing where to turn to. “I love my town and its people, but I am far more interested in the welfare and safety of residents,” he said. Establishing with a group of friends the organisation #IAM in March 2017, should have come as no surprise therefor for someone who has run the gamut of local politics and settled into a watchdog of the community. This advocacy group concerns itself with gender-based violence and has support-initiatives for victims of such crimes. They have held their ground many a day in front of the Standerton Magistrate’s Court when cases ranging from rape, murder and child abuse were heard. Protests at the Regional Court in Secunda and the capital, Pretoria were also held. Their membership has grown to close to 230 people and Facebook-followers number 230. Louis has several irons in the fire. He is a businessman, community worker and social discipline and welfare officer at Laerskool Jeugkrag. The father of two sons and two daughters was born in Soweto and the family moved to Standerton when he was three years old. His mother and great-grandmother brought him up after his father’s death and Louis attended several schools in Sakhile. Nyandeni Primary School, Madi Combined School, Khula-Sakhile Secondary School when it was known as Lindilanga, and he completed Standard 8, 9 and 10 at Jandrell Secondary School.
Louis was president of the Student Representative Council at Jandrell in 1991 and his political awakening was already coming to the surface at the age of 14. He was a member of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and not to put too fine a point on it, an incident in a laboratory led to his first run-in with authorities in those rioting days He helped to establish the Standerton Youth Club in 1992 and formed the Bright Future Drama-group in the same year. For the man who wanted to become a doctor, executive positions in the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) followed. Parliament in Cape Town was where the Cosatu-man worked in 1998, meeting former president Thabo Mbeki and developing his speech-writing skills for the man. Louis Thabethe also held the office of mayor of Standerton in 2004. As councillor he travelled to China in 2001 and saw their big cities, with Hong Kong a destination as well. “I was impressed with the growth and development in China,” he also said. “The commitment of their people and pride in their country were noteworthy.” The municipality and China agreed on investment initiatives during that time. He went to work for the provincial government as researcher in Limpopo, but returned to Standerton. “Politics are different nowadays since money entered the picture,” was Louis’ comment. He is currently in his third year with LLB-studies through Unisa. “It’s difficult to juggle law studies and community work. “I should have completed it by now and would love to be an attorney.” His legal studies comes in handy when helping victims of gender-based violence to prepare for court proceedings and he is in possession of certificates in sports management, business management and the hospitality trade. With regard to Standerton, Louis emphasised the unemployment problem, coupled with the closing of bigger industries. “Service delivery standards furthermore, prevent investment in town.” People phone him with their problems and the group sets the wheels in motion whether fires, water supply, women in need, everybody wants a piece of him. “I am a servant of the people,” he concluded.
