Sibiya’s determination and passion to qualify as a lawyer wins the day
Legal eagle also spreads his wings as savvy budding businessman
Donald Sibiya first dreamt of a career in the entertainment industry before the law profession won him over.
Sibiya, 28, a legal claims officer at the Road Accident Fund, initially wanted to become a sound engineer, but being good at debating, he opted for a career in law instead. “Growing up I actually thought I’d be something in the entertainment industry until I realised I stood a chance of being a good lawyer rather than a sound engineer.”
He recalls the evening when he made up his mind about pursuing a law qualification.
“I vividly remember one evening where I had a long, heated argument with one of my cousins, out of anger and possibly honesty, my cousin said, ‘you like debating like you’re a lawyer, you’ll never be one,” Sibiya said.
He now handles the settlement of claims by road accident victims.
“As much as it gets really hectic nine times out of 10 in a normal day, I love the fact that I hardly have to take work home,” Sibiya said.
He matriculated with good marks in 2007 at Makause Combined School in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, where he was among the youngest in his class.
“I was always the youngest in all my classes, so I’ve always had to act a little older than I was. Unfortunately in the process, I’d slip up and end up in the principal’s office … for misbehaving,” he said.
During his school days, Sibiya played sports including cricket, rugby, athletics and football.
“Football became the closest to my heart as I played it even in high school while at some point I also took part in karate and boxing,” he said.
However, a femur fracture on his right leg forced him to hang up his boots.
After matric, Sibiya pursued a law diploma at the Tshwane University of Technology before acquiring a law degree at Unisa [University of South Africa].
He joined the Road Accident Fund in 2012 as an intern. A year later he was permanently employed.
“The legal field is very interesting in a sense that you get to learn every day, not everything is as clear-cut as it looks,” Sibiya said.
He is also a director of a travel and tourism company he runs with his partner.
“I’m also in events [business] as we have a few annual shows we host in Mpumalanga and I’ve started to look into the construction business,”