Limpopo Born Lawyer and Football Enthusiast Nominated for the Forty Under 40 Africa Awards

• Under-40 football-loving lawyer, Nakedi Malahlela is up for the Forty Under 40 Africa awards 2022
• The founding and current president of Turfloop Football Club, he is the only South African nominated in the sports category
• He is busy growing a law business with like-minded fellows and has begun hunting beyond borders and seas, however not neglecting to offer law services to low or no-income people at home

By Montsho Matlala - Freelance journalist

For 37-year-old lawyer and sportsman Nakedi Malahlela, a fulfilling life begins under 40 and that is why he is confident to score at the Forty Under 4O Africa Awards in Accra, Ghana on 26 March.

Malahlela, who is the founding and current president of Turfloop Sports Club in Mankweng township, Polokwane in Limpopo, has been nominated for the prestigious awards and is the only South African competing in the sports category. He is also the president of the Turfloop FC Club.

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“I am a confident person and I always say to people, do not be scared in whatever you want to do. The worst thing that can happen is when you don’t wake up,” says Malahlela.

He will compete against three others, Abdul Hayye Yartey of Cheetah FC from Ghana, Luol Deng of Luol Deng Publication from South Sudan and Eric Mensah of Apam City from Ghana.

Voting would commence on 19 February through the Forty Under 40 website.

Malahlela's journey to success

As a young boy in 1998, Malahlela was recruited by renowned coach, the late Jerry Ramohlale to join Turfloop Sports Academy. Ramohlale gave him the name Dunga, (after a Brazilian coach) and he is still fondly called by that name.

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This Tshwaare village, Ga-Mamabolo-born lad was nurtured at Hellenic Football Academy while he was a learner at Wittebome High School in Wynberg, Cape Town.

After matric, Malahlela played for SuperSport United but quit six months later to enroll for a law degree at Tuks, the University of Pretoria, during 2005. He also played for one season at Arcadia Shepard FC.

Asked if he ever kicked a football, Malahlela quipped,

“Yes, and I still kick. I am a striker at Turfloop Masters FC and I must be one of the top goal scorers at the end of the season. I can’t wait for the day we take down Orlando Pirates Masters.”

He obtained his LLB at 24 and started working as a candidate attorney at a law firm in Polokwane while he furthered his studies.

Malahlela's track record includes operating his own companies, working for others and also within the Gauteng provincial government as legal advisor and later chief of staff in the office of the then MEC Paul Mashatile (Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlement).

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Fast forward, today he is the brain behind Black-White Inc, known as BW, which is already working on big deals here in South Africa and busy concluding offshore agreements that should see the entity becoming a global brand to be reckoned with.

“I am the founder of BW. I was joined later by Jonny Ramohlale and Pumla Nkosi. We are the three partners in the BW family. BW was founded in October 2020,” he explained.

“We call ourselves Black-White as an association. I practice mainly in fundamental rights and football. I have BW Malahlela and Company with a staff complement of about 20 people. Collectively in the BW group, both the consulting and law firms, we are over 117. Individual firms can trade as a partnership or sole proprietors,” he said.

BW has started looking for opportunities in Kenya, Ethiopia, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and other countries to strike deals, particularly in banking and forensics.

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And the group said ordinary people who would normally not afford law services are welcomed to explore not only pro-bono services but affordable rates to suit lower-income groups and virtually free in some cases.

Malalhlela's colleagues confident he will win the prestigious award

Phuti Lekganyane, non-executive director of communication at Turfloop Sports Club said, Malahlela’s nominations into these esteemed awards did not come as a surprise, as he had already made enormous strides in various areas, including business and community development.

“He is leading a conglomerate that is building a ‘titanic’ sporting empire, that will house an assortment of sporting Codes under one Umbrella. For his age, President Malahlela has defined himself as a pace-setter,” added Lekganyane.

Drinking contaminated water prompts rural boy to invent technology that will decontaminate SA’s water

Briefly News previously reported that with slightly discoloured teeth from drinking salty water from boreholes in rural Botlokwa, near Polokwane, a young man is focusing his university studies on trying to decontaminate water that feeds residents of Mzansi’s capital Pretoria. The 22-year-old hopes his research project has the potential for the whole world.

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As part of his studies at the University of Limpopo (UL), Phuti Mokgehle has innovated a technology using clinoptilolite that gets rid of ammonia from water that flows to Wallmansthal Water Purification Plant to feed residents under Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

“Ammonia is definitely not responsible for teeth discolouration and the salt-like taste from drinking water at my village, Sekonye in Botlokwa, but it is dangerous to aquatic life with consequence to us."

Source: Briefly News