“I chose to study Law to help others – with a legal qualification I can not only take on the corporate world but I can defend the less fortunate and do something that could have a marked impact on my country”, says Loyiso Mantanga, final year UNISA LLB student studying at Varsity College Westville. “Countries are built on laws, people are changed by laws and the world runs on law,” continues Loyiso.
This young man inspires, as not only is he passionate about and dedicated to a career in law, but he is also the current 200m athletics Senior KZN Champion, an ICE model and the author of New Reality, which is part of a book series he has been working on which he wants published by mid-2016.
In terms of his first priority – law, he believes ethics to be the greatest challenge. “What many may not realise is that an alarming number of legal professionals are being disbarred due to ethics, or a lack thereof. This affects mainly the young lawyers who have just qualified and has also somehow corroborated the false impression that lawyers are liars and untrustworthy individuals who are selfish and only care about money. The truth of the matter is that legal professionals are honest and hardworking people who care about and want to help others”, says Loyiso.
He believes that fixing the problem starts with being taught integrity at home, that discipline promotes ethics and that legal ethics should not be taught only once during legal studies, but it should be taught and reinforced in every year of a law degree.
Some of his proudest moments, achieved through grit and perseverance include:
- Winning the 200m KZN title after missing out on it for three years in a row
- Qualifying for, attending his first national championship and winning his first national championship medal in 2013
- Signing up with ICE as a model after trying for five years, modelling for top designers and also being the face of the HUB stores
The next steps on Loyiso’s journey is finishing his degree, focussing on competing in international leagues for athletics, qualifying for the Olympics in 2016, modelling internationally and launching his book series.
And for his altruistic fix this remarkable man mentors young athletes, where he provides fitness advice, psychological support and general health advice. He also spent two seasons coaching soccer, which has been close to his heart as mentoring athletes is very rewarding for him.
With his Mum as the one pillar in his life he has always trusted and relied on as she kept in anchored and focussed during challenging times and ‘greatness’ as his inspiration instead of role models and heroes, this driven young man is set to achieve a level of ‘greatness’ many can only aspire to.
