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“Who needs a leg?”
Words: Lauren Dold Images: Supplied
When Thabo Dube lost his leg in an accident, permanently shattered. But creativity kicked in and he began telling his story through the manufacture of leather bags.
Thabo’s brand LETZ stands for ‘Live every day till Z’. He tells me it is a personal mantra that has comforted him throughout a long physical and mental journey. It is his reminder to fully embrace each day, right up until the last second. “I was only 17 when I started living alone in Cape Town. My grandparents, who raised me, had both passed away a few months apart. I tried getting jobs here and there, in order to survive,” Thabo explains.
“I was just trying to make ends meet, when one day I woke up in hospital without a leg.” In August 2013 Thabo was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. He was 19 at the time.“ I was in Tygerberg hospital for nine months, alone. I almost lost both legs and I had a skull fracture, which wiped my memory for a very long time. There was a stage when I wasn’t sure I knew my own name.”




