Goodbye Wonder Tlape!
Boniface Wonder Tlape, a Gaborone United legend departed this world at the age of 74 on November 10 after a lengthy period of being unwell.
Born on October 7, 1949, he was christened Mareledi Boniface Tlape. However, his father nicknamed him Wonder ‘Mthetho wa Bafana’, in appreciation of his football artistry and prowess.
‘Wonder’ was an indisputable football maestro who started mesmerising his opposition in 1967 on the dusty pitches of Serowe when playing for the newly formed Maphatshwa football team. In time, the right-footed lanky front-runner became Maphatshwa’s pillar and strength scoring goals with remarkable ease and making a name for himself with the football fans. At that stage, although still a student at Tshekedi Primary School, he was already a household name in the village.
His father Rre Tlape (Snr) was his greatest cheerleader and it is reported that in cheering him or bragging about his son in matches, his father used to say, “Wonderboy my son, o rutilwe ke mang bolo?”, “Mthetho wa Bafana iyoooo!”
Rre Tlape (Snr) would make such utterances shaking his head while looking up to the sky and in most cases holding a quencher in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He was indeed very proud of his son’s play, talent, and skill. Apparently, besides being a home coach and mentor to Wonder’s two younger brothers (Diratsagae and Aubrey), he also motivated neighbourhood children at the Serowe PWD Camp where the family lived.
In time Wonder’s talent was noticed by the eagle-eyed football predators in Gaborone and in 1969, he joined Gaborone United, his dream team where he had an opportunity to play alongside his mentor, Nicolas Lele Sebele.
Unfortunately, his participation was limited since he was still a student at Serowe Teacher Training College. In the early 1970s, he retraced his steps to the Mighty Reds and re-joined a galaxy of stars that included players like Geoff ‘Killer-Makhaya’ Nfila, Tuli Nthobatsang, David ‘Pro’ Mohohlo, Churchill Gape, Alfred ‘Banks’ Mokgware, Chris ‘Rollaway’ Nganunu, Dennis ‘Doom’ Motshegare, and the agile and flamboyant Benjamin ‘Steering’ Segale between the goalposts.
After re-joining his teammates, they accelerated their winning streak and Wonder’s contribution was noteworthy. He scored memorable goals; a typical example was in the 1975 cup final against our city rivals, Township Rollers, where Wonder rounded off the scoring with a long-distance stunner that brought the game to bed with a staggering victory of 7-4.
Wonder was athletically wellbuilt, fit and quick with the ball at his feet. He was indeed gifted and a marvel to watch and truly one of a kind; a team leader who gave his teammates immense confidence when he was in the team.
Wonder caught the attention of our national team selectors and was a regular in the Zebras squad in the 1970s alongside such players as the late Willie ‘Paymaster’ Dennison and the late Rex ‘True Form’ Morakaladi. He represented Botswana in 1976 during the country’s 10th anniversary celebrations against Zambia. His final playing season at GU was in 1983 and after retiring from competitive football, he used to fill in as interim coach at GU before leaving to found a police football team as player-coach. He brought Itumeleng ‘Conti’ Fight and Percy Macheng from GU and in his honour the team was named Wonder Sporting.
During his playing career, he also earned the names of ‘Valdez’ and ‘Shaka’ after the Kaiser Chiefs legend. Wonder was kind-hearted, focused, and inspired many young players with his conduct both on and off the pitch. Such members of the sports fraternity as Kabelo ‘Kempes’ Ebineng and Kagiso Kemoeng are part of the protégés that he inspired dating back to those formative Serowe days.
Boniface Tlape’s funeral is scheduled to take place tomorrow in Kopong, where he was domiciled. May His Soul Rest in Eternal Peace.Moya goleele ha a ipone tsapa!!!