In one episode of I Blew It, Thabang from Alexandra takes us through how he spent money he received from the Road Accident Fund in 2015 and blew it all by 2016.
“I was always a quiet child, and I aspired to go into media, and I realised being behind the camera and in front of the camera are two different things. I then decided to work behind the camera. I only have one sibling and a cousin,” Thabang started narrating his story.
“I grew up with my cousin Mix because our mothers are sisters. My mother died on the 24th of December, and it was hard because, at the time, other children were shopping for Christmas,” he added.
Thabang says he was young by the time but understood he no longer had a mother anymore.
His cousin revealed his guardian would often say bad words about his mother. She would often say she regretted raising Thabang as it was a huge responsibility, and he was ill-mannered.
The accident happened as they were taking a trip to Limpopo during the July school holidays.
“I was with my grandparents and two of my aunts and a young child. We were driving early in the morning when we saw a BMW trying to overtake another car, and it hit us on the side,” said Thabang.
“Our car screeched onto the side of the road because we were avoiding a head-on collision. After he hit us, he did not stop. Our car rolled five times and landed on the railway.”
Thabang and his cousin Mix were the only survivors. He injured his spinal code and the back of his head.
“I received a payout from the Road Accident Fund. My mother was a hard worker and left a trust fund for me. As I was still young, my mother listed my aunt as the beneficiary. My aunt spent all the money that my mother left me,” Thabang claims.
“We went to see attorneys in Kempton Park. I was badly injured, so they had to contest my case in court. 2015 I received R900,000. I gave my aunt half of it because she said she wanted to buy a house with the money, and I never saw the house or the proof of payment.”
“When I received the lump sum, I renovated the family house, bought a TV set and two washing machines. I fixed the cracks in the house, and I also bought deco and matching curtains. I paid R36,000 for my brother’s school fees.”
“I bought ten pairs of sneakers. I could spend R20,000 daily and even increase my limit.”
His girlfriend says he refused to buy clothes from Mr Price but instead took her to Zara and H&M. they spent about R15,000 on clothes in Cape Town.
The love birds went for the aquarium and boat cruising. They stayed in hotels and hired the fastest cars, and spent R16,000 on accommodation and flights.
“We should go for candlelit dinners at the beach. Thabang even spent R13,000 on my son’s birthday,” his girlfriend said.
“When I received my payout, my character changed drastically. I could send elders to run errands because I had money. I had to show what the people of Alexandra were capable of. I wanted to impress my friends and got carried away by the pressure. We never cooked at home, and we always ate at the restaurants,” Thabang said.
Thabang was seeing a lot of girls at once. “I went to his house at 5 am and saw him with another girl.” his girlfriend said.
Things started to change when I went to Cape Town. I tried to swipe, but I was told I had no money in the account. From that day, he has lived a life of regrets; he is always home and wishes h had been wise about spending money.