Petrol attendant is now a lawyer .
David Masilela used to work as a petrol attendant but dreamt of bigger things. Now he runs his own law firm
WHEN he stops to put petrol in his car he always gives the attendant a big, friendly handshake. For David Masilela it’s not a case of being polite – it goes much deeper than that. Today he’s a respected lawyer with a few degrees under his belt and a thriving legal practice in Pretoria, but he knows what it’s like to stand on a forecourt, pumping petrol rain or shine.
Because for eight long years this is what David (43) had to do while it felt as if his life was in limbo and his dreams were on permanent hold. After finishing school in 1994 he’d wanted to study law but as one of 11 children in a household where there was only one breadwinner – his father, Modjadji (now 84), was a contract worker and his mother, Balekani (75), was unemployed – university just wasn’t on the cards.
Without any qualifications he didn’t have many options so when he was offered a position as a petrol jockey at a Total service station in his hometown of Maphotla, Mpumalanga, he didn’t hesitate. “My older brother had been working at a petrol station for several years and he got me the job,” David says.
His plan was to work for a year to save money for his studies but little did he know that he’d end up staying much longer. Even though the customers were often rude and he yearned to do something more with his life, he was trapped.
“Working as a petrol attendant, people belittle you, they demean you,” he says, shaking his head as he recalls some of the treatment he had to endure.
But that just made him more determined not to give up on his dream. D URING his long shifts he’d borrow newspapers from the petrol station shop, returning them after reading them. “I was afraid my mind might rust, so I wanted to keep up,” David says.
A cousin also gave him secondhand legal study material from Unisa.
“I don’t know where he got it from because he never attended Unisa but I started to read those. It was Introduction to Law and Law of Persons and I found
it interesting. I could understand it without a lecture,” David says.
From a young age he’d always aspired to becoming a lawyer. When he was growing up in the ’80s his family spoke about politics a lot. Nelson Mandela, who was still in prison, was their hero.
“I asked what his profession was and they said he’s a lawyer. So I knew I had to go for that profession,” David recalls.
“Teachers could spot that I wanted to be an attorney. It was the era of corporal punishment and I used to negotiate a lot – most of the time successfully.
“There was one teacher who would call me and say, ‘Mr Mandela, can you negotiate why we should not beat you up?” It became a joke and everyone would laugh.”
But after years on the forecourt he almost gave up on his dream. It was a chance encounter with a child at the petrol station that set him back on course. The child wanted to know if he’d always wanted to be a petrol attendant.
“I knew that money would never be enough, I must just apply,” he says.
So he put in an application at Vista University in Mpumalanga. To his amazement he was accepted and he started his studies in 2003. After almost a decade out of high school it was a big adjustment. “As a 28-year-old I was the oldest student in my class.”
He stayed in Mamelodi with one of his brothers for a year but later moved out so he could be closer to varsity.
“I was sharing a room but it was tough because my roommate was studying science and I was doing law. He’d finish his work and want to turn the lights off and I’d want to study through the night.”
The first few months he felt like a fish out of water. “I thought I’d made a mistake by going back to school but I participated a lot in class and the lecturers were fond of me.”
His hard work paid off. At the end of the year he went to the university’s finance department to find out if his application to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) had been approved and was told that because his results were so good he was being awarded a scholarship called the Achievers Award to help cover his fees.
Over the course of his studies he notched up a total of 22 distinctions, ensuring more scholarship offers. In his third year he was offered a part-time job at a Pretoria law firm. This helped him to raise the money he needed to buy a laptop so that he was equipped to do his thesis in his fourth year.
When he graduated with his LLB in 2006 it was a proud moment. Both his parents were there to see him become the first member of the family to receive a degree.
As a graduate trainee he worked at various law firms in Pretoria. He also had a stint at the competition commission, which he says was tough but helped him to develop a thick skin.
By 2011 he was ready to open his own practice, David Masilela Attorneys.
“I decided that I don’t want to be someone’s employee, I want to do things in my own way. Every lawyer has a different approach to tackling problems. I have a soft character and I use that to my advantage because I get the same results as the bully,” he says.
But it was a big challenge going it alone. “I had no money. I only had a laptop – that was my only asset. I have this picture that I recently found of me seated on the carpet with a laptop – that’s all I had when I started,” David says.
Then he landed a case – a road accident claim that everyone else said was hopeless because the driver was at fault. David was confident he could help, and he was right. He won the case and it landed him on his feet.
David was able to rent an office in central Pretoria and slowly start building himself up. In this period he continued his studies at the University of Pretoria, eventually graduating with his LLM in 2014. He now lives in the suburb of Nellmapius, Pretoria, with his wife, Dudukani (31), and their two kids, S’thembiso (7) and Musa (2).
In his practice he employs a handful of people, including candidate attorneys, professional assistants and a receptionist. Sitting in his office in a smart blue suit, he’s surrounded by law books. The cases he tackles include high court and magistrate’s court litigation, road accident fund claims, medical negligence, admission of deceased estates, labour, family law, divorces and maintenance cases.
But many of the cases he takes on are pro bono work.
“If someone knocks at my door, I believe there’s a reason for it. I don’t turn them away just because they don’t have money.”
Having built himself up, he’s turned his focus on helping others.
“I believe my background as a petrol attendant helped me to become who I am today,” he says.
“I know what it’s like to want to talk to someone when no one is prepared to listen.”
‘As a 28-yearold I was the oldest student in my class’