I was born in Mmakau, a village outside Ga-Rankuwa in what today is called the North-West province of South Africa. Then, it was a homeland called Bophuthatswana, led by a tinpot despot and puppet of the erstwhile apartheid South African governmnet. Mmakau is a village of the Bakgatlha, led by King Motsepe, affectionately known as Chief Bazabaza. Without coincidence, I also am a Mokgatlha. So, I was born in the village and land of my forebears, the Bakgatlha. My christening in the same year of my birth, was conducted in an Anglican parish across the dusty road from the clinic of my birth. It was done by an Anglican Priest called Father Motsepe. I would grow up fondly loving this man of the cloth, until he passed on, crossing the great divide to the land of our Gods, the Kingdom of God.

The birth of this second boy to Matthew and Helen Tabane, happened on July 31st 1974. I'm forever greatful that God gave me such wonderful people to raise me. The tragedy of childhood, is that no baby chooses its own parents. So the more fortunate ones get to be raised by a wonderful pair, the more blessings one must count.

From that obviously cold Wednesday morning of South African winter, my life unfolded as follows:

We moved from Mothutlung where I stayed as a baby, to Hebron where I spent all my childhood and teenagehood. Hebron is a village of the Bakwena-ba-Mogopa, situated some twenty minutes outside Pretoria, the Capital City of South Africa. Without coincidence, my mother is from the Bakwena-ba-Mogopa clan. But as folklore goes, that ceased as she became a Mokgatlha by default, having married my Father.

Primary School attended: Lorato Primary School in Hebron
1st to 6th Grade.
Secondary School : Tlhasedi middle school in Hebron
5th Grade only

In 1986, at the height of school uprisings and 10th commemoration of the 1976 Soweto students' revolt, my parents decided to enroll me for further schooling at a Catholic school called Tsogo (Ressurection). It was at this school that I found myself. Without any coincidence, this school is at Mmakau, the very village of my birth, the land of the Bakgatlha - my people. I did the rest of my schooling at Tsogo High School, i.e. until completing grade 12 in 1990 - the year Nelson Mandela walked free from Victor Vester prison after 27 years of incacceration.

Post Grade 12, I went to the University of Bophuthatswana, latter day University of North-West. There I completed my undergraduate degree in Commerce and an honours degree in Management. I would later teach there as a junior lecturer until finally working for the North-West provincial government and a consulting company called Accenture in Pretoria.

During my tenure as a junior lecturer, I received a scholarship to study in the United States. I completed an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) at Clark Atlanta University (CAU) in Atlanta, Goergia. There I met lifetime friends and companions who I will talk about later. (Click on the following link to visit CAU)

Much happened during my time at the University. The story of my life, is actually written on the pages of the struggles of that University and the people of that part of South Africa. It is a story of a bitter battle against apartheid South Africa, yet of a sweet victory of mankind against what must never be done by any human being to another. Like many things in life, my story is a story I tell often, but to the world, it's a story better interpreted. My friends Mark and Jana attempt to do so in their website. To see me through their window, please go to the following link:

Gaba through the eyes of Mark and Jana

So, however much the hardships I endured and the niceties of life I enjoyed, I still thank God that I'm a full and all-rounded individual today. I play golf, squash and enjoy movies and reading. I still follow politics very closely and have not closed my doors to prospects from any angle of my life. To me, life is as we live it and I believe that I die daily. I try hard to treat each day as if it's my last, each day as it comes. Evey sunrise is a blessing, and that how I treat my daily aquantances with people - as a blessing.