Zuko Komisa
- Ten-year-old Lethabo Maleka lost his sight following a cobra attack, leading to a two-year hiatus from his education.
- Inspired by successful blind figures, he returned to school and excelled, becoming a top-tier matriculant and a dedicated law student.
- He has now graduated cum laude with an LLB, intending to use his legal career to provide equal access to justice for the underserved.
At just ten years old, Lethabo Maleka’s life was upended by a spitting cobra.
While using a pit latrine at his family home in Mamaolo, the venom struck his eyes, causing a gradual but total loss of sight.
The trauma was compounded by isolation; with no local schools equipped for blind students, Lethabo spent two years out of education, his world narrowing to the sounds of the radio.
His journey from despair to the courtroom began in 2014 at the Siloe School for the Blind.
Refusing to let his disability define his limits, Lethabo drew strength from blind icons like Steve Kekana, eventually becoming one of his district’s top matric achievers.
He viewed his blindness not as a full stop, but as a catalyst to advocate for those the system often overlooks.
Lethabo recently graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Limpopo.
Supported by the Reakgona Disability Centre, his academic success marks a transition from a victim of circumstance to a champion of justice.
He now enters the legal profession with a singular focus: ensuring that vulnerable communities have a voice in the halls of power.
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