A comedian, a taxi, and fifteen years of resilience, Thapelo Sephiri is turning his greatest challenge into his greatest comeback.
It was an ordinary Sunday evening on 3 July 2011. Thapelo Sephiri, popularly known now as ‘Leotoana’ then 24 years old, was simply walking a friend to the Lakeside bus stop to catch a taxi home. He never made it back on two legs.
A taxi coming from town suffered a brake failure and took an off-ramp at speed. In a desperate bid to get out of the way, Sephiri tried to evade the vehicle but was dragged by it in the process.
The next thing he remembers is waking up in hospital the following Monday morning at around 11am, being told what had happened to him.He lost his leg that day. He was 24 years old.
“It has really been difficult,” Sephiri reflects.
“I had to manage the challenges of accepting, of facing the public, and learning to live without a leg, having lived for 24 years with an able body. I used to be a dancer, very active. Then moving on to facing a different life altogether.”
The road back was neither short nor straight. Sephiri only received his first prosthetic leg in 2013, two full years after the accident. Prosthetics, hehas sincelearned do not last forever.
By 2018, seven years after losing his leg, he launched his first fundraising campaign to cover the cost of a replacement. It worked. He walked again.
Now, in 2026, five years on from that second prosthetic, the time has come again. The limb has reached the end of its lifespan, and Sephiri needs a new one.
He has obtained two quotations: one for M152,000 from a new supplier, and one for M189,000 from the provider he has worked with before. Despite the higher price tag, Sephiri is firm about which one he wants.
“I want the M189,000 one because we have created a good relationship with them,” he says.
Trust, when it comes to something as intimate as a prosthetic limb, is not something to be traded for a discount. His medical aid will contribute M60,000 towards the cost, leaving a shortfall of M129,000. That gap is exactly what Comedy ForA Cause is designed to close.
If the story of how the comedy show came together tells you anything about Thapelo Sephiri, it is this: people show up for him, because he shows up for them.
“Because we work together and support each other, I contacted them individually and all of them committed to helping make this comedy show a success, at no cost,” he says of the lineup of performers who will grace the stage on 3 July 2026.
The bill is a who’s-who of local comedy talent: Lilaphalapha, Makhubelu, Masapo Energy, Skaftin, MSL, Tseko (Nthotse Streit), Shorts, Mokotatsie, and Sir MATEE, alongside Leotoana himself. Dancers Mavele & Tash and saxophonist Marcx Brass round out what promises to be a spectacular evening of entertainment.Every single one of them said yes.
Sephiri did not always know he had a gift for comedy. It was his schoolmates who saw it first.
“Some of my schoolmates turn to say I have always been that guy,” he laughs. But it was fellow comedians Mosola and Skaftin who eventually nudged him to take the stage and make it official.
He found his footing, and his niche.
“My niche is storytelling,” he says. “It pleases my heart when I see the audience and share stories, and I see them laughing and relating to the stories I share. I love it with a passion.”
But comedy has been more than just a career. For Sephiri, it has been medicine.
“It helped me to heal and live with my disability.”
There is something quietly profound about a man who lost so much in an instant, and who found in laughter not just a livelihood, but a lifeline.
Sephiri is not waiting around. The moment the funds are secured, he will travel to Bloemfontein for an initial fitting. The prosthetic then takes approximately two weeks to manufacture, after which he returns for a confirmation fitting. Within roughly a month of hitting the target, he expects to be walking on a new leg.
He is confident it will happen.
“I am quite confident that we will reach the target,” he says. “If not, I will reach out to companies, and actually, if there are companies willing to join the campaign now, they can reach out to me so that we can facilitate that process.”
For anyone still weighing whether to buy a ticket, Sephiri has a direct message:
“When you take out money and buy a ticket to the Leotoana show, you will be making a huge contribution to my being. That will be a huge contribution to my peace of mind, my social life, and my health.”
Comedy For A Cause takes place on 3 July 2026. Tickets are priced at R200. All proceeds go directly towards Thapelo “Leotoana” Sephiri’s prosthetic leg fund.
Companies or individuals wishing to make a larger contribution to the campaign are encouraged to reach out directly to facilitate the process.
Summary
- In a desperate bid to get out of the way, Sephiri tried to evade the vehicle but was dragged by it in the process.
- “Because we work together and support each other, I contacted them individually and all of them committed to helping make this comedy show a success, at no cost,” he says of the lineup of performers who will grace the stage on 3 July 2026.
- There is something quietly profound about a man who lost so much in an instant, and who found in laughter not just a livelihood, but a lifeline.
A Professional Communications practitioner with a wealth of expertise in marketing, public speaking, communication and media relations. I believe in learning everyday and improving one’s personal and professional capabilities.
* A former journalist and radio host who is passionate about media and it’s impact on society.
