Cape Town-based businessman and evangelist Xola Dekeda is making a mark in the security tech business world. The 42-year-old owns Ukhanyiselo Technology (Ukhatech), a thriving security systems integration business that has branches spread around the country with more than 27 people under its employ. The company, which has been in existence since 2016, specialises in the installation, maintenance and commissioning of CCTV cameras, networking, access control, intercoms and boom gates. His company boasts an impressive clientele including MIA Telecoms, MTN, Steam Group and Vodacom among others.
DRINKING AS EARLY AS HGH SCHOOL
Things have not always been this rosy for this successful businessman, originally from Ngqamakwe,in the Eastern Cape. For years, his life was in shambles. He was a hopeless drunkard who was disowned by his family and friends because of his drinking habits. The divorced father of two says his problems started at the age of 15 when he started drinking as a hobby in high school. "I was very popular at school because I was a top student and came from a middle-class business family. My mother and father were separated. I was raised by my mother who was a firm Christian and a preacher. When my addiction started, I went to stay with my father who was also a drunkard. He never stopped me from drinking, and he died in 1997 because of alcoholism,' he recalls.
THINGS FALL APART
Dekeda adds that his addiction grew worse at varsity, where he was studying electrical engineering to an extent that he had to drop out. He got a job that took him to Mozambique and this is where things fell apart. "I was away from my country, lonely and miserable but I earned a lot of money. The only way to get girls was to go to nightclubs. This became my daily routine after work. So,I got used to it drinking every day. My drinking got out of hand and towards the end of the second year, I was fired. From then I went from job to job,' he recollects. After the death of his mother, Dekeda was retrenched and that was the last time he had a job. "I was forced to go back home. Rejected by everyone, I became a regular at drinking holes. The tavern was the only welcoming place but every time I got drunk; I became suicidal. I tried to commit suicide three times and was hospitalised once. Every time I would dream of being saved by the power of God from my ordeals and would see myself preaching to multitudes,'shares Dekeda.
STARTING HIS OWN COMPANY
Fate had other ideas for Dekeda. He gave his life to Christ Jesus but the craving for alcohol intensified. His drinking habits became worse. At this stage, he had no clothes and was chased out of his home because of his alcoholism. He called a pastor he knew in Cape Town who was also his mother's mentor for help. The pastor sent him money to travel to Cape Town. "When I got to Cape Town, the pastor tried to get me a job but unfortunately I failed every interview. He was staying in a one-bedroom flat, so I decided to volunteer to be a guard in his tent church. I stayed there for nine months until I got a job as a junior technician. From there I was promoted to senior technician, became a team leader and later a site supervisor. In 2016 I started my own company.' Today Dekeda celebrates nine years of sobriety. He provides successful business leadership, is a pastor and is an author of books. He also helps people find positives in even the saddest and most agonising experiences in life."I will forever be grateful to Bishop Ngazibini Fika and Apostle Mcebisi Ketelo for their unconditional support and love,' he says.