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Veronica Gwaze
Growing up in St Mary’s Chitungwiza, Tsitsi Khosa developed a passion for fixing cars.
Her father was a mechanic and she would always be on hand to assist. Although trained as a fitter and turner, her father, Mr Jonathan Khosa was a passionate mechanic, who used his spare time to fix cars.
“Back in 1995, when I was in Grade V, I loved to watch my father fixing cars and smeared in grease and oils.
“I was at Tangenhamo Primary School. I gradually withdrew from playing with friends, preferring to watch my father as he spent time working on cars in the garage.
“With time, I began to understand a thing or two about fixing cars. I became his assistant. The more I learnt about cars, the more I became interested,” says the Black Rhinos Football Queens bus driver.
After completing her “O” Levels at Seke Mhuriimwe Secondary School, Khosa did not proceed to “A” Levels.
Instead, she obtained a driver’s licence.
“I informed my parents that I wanted to take up a motor mechanical engineering programme.
“My father suggested I take up the auto electronics programme because of the rewards that it offered. I did not take his advice, because I was set on what I wanted to do.”
That led her to enrol for a four-year mechanical engineering programme at Speciss College.
On completion of her training, Khosa took up several driving jobs with different companies. This, she says, helped her gain experience much quicker.
In 2006, she joined the Zimbabwe National Army as a mechanic stationed in Bulawayo. She spent nine years in the City of Kings and Queens. It was during that period that, on the advice of the Army Master Driver, she decided to take part in the army drivers’ competitions. She was the only female participant.
Khosa recalls questioning the wisdom of the decision as on occasions she doubted herself.
“Surprisingly, I emerged fourth in Africa and automatically qualified for the internationals that were due months later.”
The first international drivers’ competition she took part in was in Rustenburg, South Africa. That earned her the 27th slot, globally.
In 2014 she was nominated to represent Africa in a competition in Poland.
Recalls Khosa: “I went to Poland. More women were participating and that boosted my confidence. The competition was tough but I came out fifth placed.
“With my confidence somewhere in the stratosphere, I told myself that I would never miss these competitions any other year.”
In 2016 she entered the competition again and finished fourth in Africa, and later in Finland, where she represented Africa.
Recently, her name has been appearing on the World Heavy Truckers’ charts as one of the top heavy truckers’ champions continentally.
“I am very happy to have my name on the charts, especially being the first female because women are usually confined to the sidelines. Being in top four charts is a dream come true – something anyone would want to have. In fact, it is a chance to live one’s dream.
“It shows that my passion, hard work and dedication are paying off. Above all, I feel very proud to be raising the national flag high at international competitions. It is never easy.”
Recently Khosa was nominated vice-president of the Zimbabwe Drivers’ Association.
Asked about her thoughts on settling down, Khosa had this to say: “I love my job but settling down would mean I have to dedicate some of my time to marriage.
“I am not against the idea of marriage, but I believe it would be too much of burden because of demands that the family makes on one. I would not be able to attend to all of them.
“My concerns are that my spouse and in-laws would not be able to understand the nature, demands and passion involved in my work. This could create problems. Therefore, I would rather dedicate myself to cars,” she explains.
Whenever she is driving long distance missions, Khosa makes sure that among her playlist are Thomas Mapfumo and Oliver Mtukudzi’s collections.
Online Reporter