FIRST-TIMER WITH A CHAMPION’S SPIRIT

By Boitumelo Boweni

• Pitso Maema, a 63-year-old active ager from Monakato Village in Rustenburg, North West, is taking part in the Golden Games for the first time.
• A former underground miner at Impala Mine, Mr Maema lost the use of his legs after he was shot by apartheid police in 1991, but he has not let the tragedy hold him back.
• A member of Tshwaragang Service Club, he is representing the North West Province in pegs in Bloemfontein and hopes to bring home first place.

Charismatic and knowledgeable, Pitso Maema is a 63-year-old active ager from Monakato Village in Rustenburg, North West Province, and a member of Tshwaragang Service Club in Monakato.

Growing up, Mr Maema took part in school debates and had a great love for soccer. “I was very active and naughty,” he laughs. “I loved challenging facts and would never let an opportunity to make my opinion heard pass me by.”

After school, he worked as an underground miner at Impala Mine in Rustenburg. “Because I was born at a time when apartheid was rife, career opportunities were limited,” he says. Sadly, during his time at the mines, he experienced a life-changing moment that left him without the use of his legs.

“I was shot by the apartheid police on 16 December 1991. I remember the day vividly, and to this day the experience still hurts me,” he says. The date is now commemorated as the Day of Reconciliation. Without going into much detail, Mr Maema says he still hopes the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will do right by him.

However, the tragedy did not hold him back. “Senior members of Tshwaragang Service Club approached me to join them, as they needed someone in a wheelchair to join the club as a pegs player,” he says.

“I had never heard of pegs or the Golden Games, but I gladly accepted their offer and joined them. It is thanks to them that I am now in Bloemfontein, representing my province at national level as a first-time Golden Games participant.”
“It would mean a great deal to me to walk away with first place, so that I can brag to my wife, because she did not want me to participate,” he laughs.