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Tapuwa Kapini catches gears and spanners as a workshop owner

Highlands Park captain and goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini has ventured into the motor repair business.
Highlands Park captain and goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini has ventured into the motor repair business.
Image: Supplied

The manner in which Highlands Park captain Tapuwa Kapini ventured into the vehicle repair business is a true example of the old adage "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade".

Kapini co-owns a workshop that fixes gearboxes in Pomona, Kempton Park. The Highlands skipper had no intention of getting into fixing gearboxes until his own Ford Ranger ruptured a gearbox some years ago.

His attempts to fix it hit a snag when the dealership slapped him with a R46000 quotation, without knowing they were planting the seed for a business in the Zimbabwean shot-stopper's mind. Kapini took matters into his own hands.

"My Ford Ranger had a had gearbox problem, when I took it to a Ford dealership they quoted me R46000 to install a new one," he recalled. "I could not afford that amount.

"I went to a friend of mine who had little knowledge of fixing cars. We took the gearbox out, thoroughly cleaned and examined it and put in some screws. That's how I got into this business. Today, we co-own Trec Gearbox Specialist business, and it is registered."

The ex-Platinum Stars and AmaZulu keeper is planning to enhance his mechanic expertise by obtaining an analogous certificate in the near future.

"We have four employees. Most of the time I am in camp with the team and that's when my partner Emmanuel steps up and does everything. We fix approximately five cars a day, depending on the parts [available]. If it's cars like Toyotas, it's easy," Kapini stated.

The Lions of the North captain arrived in SA in 2007. He's fluent in Zulu and Setswana. The 34-year-old goalie is not planning to retire any time soon. He spends his leisure time with his children.

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