It’s not every day the President of the country knocks on your car window for a ride.
However, this was a reality for Bukhosi Mathema (37), who had a first hand experience having President Cyril Ramaphosa as a passenger in his Bolt Lite, better known as a Bajaj.
Bukhosi has been a Bolt Driver for almost seven years. During this time, he not only got the opportunity to travel around Gauteng and see some of the hidden gems.
At the same time, he had the opportunity to engage with different people all the time and hear different stories.
“It’s always a joyride filled with stories” is how he described his trips to Daily Sun.
Every morning he looks forward to the day. With a short prayer before jumping onto his Bajaj with a few sweets stashed, a bottle of water and his USB, he told Daily Sun this was the best way to start his day.
But in October 2023 the unbelievable happened when he gave the President a lift in Rosebank after he had been fascinated by how the Bajaj works.
“He kept on asking me questions on how I got into driving if the car uses petrol and how it operates. He asked if I could drive him around the block and he could not stop asking me questions on how much I make and how much the petrol is.
“I don’t blame him. I’m sure it was his first time in such a car,” Bukhosi said.
While many would question if he was not in any way nervous driving the president around, Mathema said not at all he felt like he felt important as there were bodyguards around him.
“Bodyguards were driving around me, and a black Vito was in front of me. On that day I felt like I was on top of the world. I was escorted by bodyguards,” he said.
Ranking Ramaphosa as the most memorable ride he has had, Bukhosi could not stop raving about other passengers he had given a ride to like Generations: The Legacy actor Karabo Maseko and ordinary people who always have a story to share about their lives.
It’s moments like these where Bukhosi is reminded that he’s living out his best dream of being a driver.
This is despite the harsh treatment and the bullying Bajaj drivers experience on the road.
“I don’t care. I know my story and know what I want. I hear a lot of people call my car by names, some call it a yellow bone, so it does not matter if it gives me what I want, I am ok,” he said.
Bukhosi is not a stranger to driving. In fact, before Bolt, Bukhosi worked at a trucking company in Gauteng.
But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he was faced with a bleak future as he now had to be retrenched. This situation forced him to revisit his life and how he would continue to make money while also maintaining his two kids.
He told the Daily Sun that with the little money he had saved up, he decided to buy himself a small car and went into Bolt driving. It wasn’t until the car started giving him problems that he had to devise another plan.
Upon scrolling on social media, he was introduced to MyNextCar fleet, a Bolt initiative that offers a financing solution for drivers to get access to vehicles.
Here, Bukhosi was able to acquire a 2023 Bajaj Qute that now sees him making money.
He said it is such opportunities that give people a chance at being empowered and financially stable, but everything begins with a goal and a target and making sure you reach it.
Bukhosi hopes that in the next five years, he will own more than just one Bajaj Qute under Bolt and have drivers cash in on his account.
