JOHANNESBURG — The manner in which Highlands Park captain Tapuwa Kapini ventured into the vehicle repair business is a true example of the old adage “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”.
Kapini co-owns a workshop that fixes gearboxes in Pomona, Kempton Park.
The Highlands skipper had no intention of getting into fixing gearboxes until his own Ford Ranger ruptured a gearbox some years ago.
His attempts to fix it hit a snag when the dealership slapped him with a R46 000 quotation, without knowing they were planting the seed for a business in the Zimbabwean shot-stopper’s mind. Kapini took matters into his own hands.
“My Ford Ranger had a gearbox problem, when I took it to a Ford dealership they quoted me R46 000 to install a new one,” he recalled. “I could not afford that amount.
“I went to a friend of mine who had little knowledge of fixing cars. We took the gearbox out, thoroughly cleaned and examined it and put in some screws. That’s how I got into this business. Today, we co-own Trec Gearbox Specialist business, and it is registered.”
The ex-Platinum Stars and AmaZulu keeper is planning to enhance his mechanic expertise by obtaining an analogous certificate in the near future.
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“We have four employees. Most of the time I am in camp with the team and that’s when my partner Emmanuel steps up and does everything. We fix approximately five cars a day, depending on the parts [available]. If it’s cars like Toyotas, it’s easy,” Kapini stated.
The Lions of the North captain arrived in SA in 2007. He’s fluent in Zulu and Setswana. The 34-year-old goalie is not planning to retire any time soon. He spends his leisure time with his children. — Sowetan
