Volume 65 December 2026-January 2026 : Business

Though during his two-year stay at the technical college he also trained as a professional chef,  he did not allow this new found love to steal his heart. His dream, it appears, was cast in stone. It was either a close relationship with wildlife or no relationship at all.

Soon after completing his studies, he joined Khama Rhino Sanctuary as an environmental educator; a role which involved among others, sharing environmental management information with the park`s visitors.

“I started working at the education centre (in the park), where I taught visitors, especially school children a lot of things about tourism and the environment,” he states.

Because he did not want to be stuck in this role his entire working life, Montiredi was always gravitating towards his real passion. When his employer sent him to the Wildlife Training Institute in Maun in 2008 for a tour guide course, he knew he had struck gold, not in terms of the monetory reward at the end of the course, but in terms of finally being able to follow his long-held dream.

Armed with a professional guide certificate after the seven months` training, he headed back to work, where he quickly endeared himself to those he had the opportunity to work with as a guide.

“Our visitors love me, and this makes me love my job even more. Some tourists from outside Botswana have been so impressed with me that they offered me jobs in their tourist ventures in their respective countries,” he notes with a smile.

He is not sure if he will at one point take up any of such offers but whether or not that happens, his next move will definitely not move him out of the tourism industry.

After our brief interview, we join him as he takes some tourists for a guided tour. It is just after leaving for the guide that it emerges that Montiredi is a sought-after Dee-Jay in the Serowe area.

“I am a Dee-Jay…I am DJ Store. I love music. Music to me is not only about entertainment as it also feeds me,” he explains.

DJ Store has always loved music but in 2001 he took his love for it beyond simple enjoyment. He started a small business selling audio tapes and CDs. He would occasionally play at the mall in Serowe but most of the time he took his wares to the small village of Malatswai where he would sell them at the village market.

This opened doors for him, and before he knew it, he got offers to go and play music at social gatherings such as weddings and birthday parties.

This greatly helped supplement his income.

Though this was before he landed his current job at Khama Rhino Sanctuary, when he did get the job, he vowed not to neglect his other vocation.

Thus, Montiredi employed two young men, DJ Peter and DJ Clicks to spin disks in his absence and thus ensure an uninterrupted cash flow into the music business.

Montiredi`s parents Otlhobogilwe Lebopo and Lebopo Gaomontle speak proudly of their son`s love for wildlife.

Unlike other boys in the family, Montiredi had no business herding cattle. Growing up, he would rather go out and hunt small animals like rabbits.

His love for wildlife was spotted by his mother years back, when the little boy declared his burning dream of one day becoming a ‘wildlife police officer`, or lepodisi la diphologolo as the old woman puts it in the vernacular.

“Ngwana yo o godile a rata diphologolo fela thata. O ne a re o batla go nna lepodisi la diphologolo. Go ya dithutong tsa kapei ya dihotele kwa Maun le gone go lebega go ne ga godisa lerato la gagwe la diphologolo,” explains the mother, meaning Montiredi had always loved wildlife and that his training as a chef had heightened his love for wildlife.

His father concurs that his son indeed loves both wildlife and music. And the old man believes Montiredi`s life is made easier by his soft temperament and easy-going attitude.

“Ke ngwana yo o bonolo. Ke motho yo o ratwang ke batho. Le fa a seyo ke nna ke wetse dibete ka ke itse a ka se dire sepe se se duleng mo tseleng,” he notes.

Montiredi wants to give his son, Olerile Kelapologile the best life that he can afford; and he intends doing this in the most enjoyable way he knows.ENDS