Luthando Kaka is a Professional Cyclist for Team Bonitas, South Africa’s Top Cycling Team, a qualified journalist, and Board member of the Life Cycling Academy with over seven years in the Cycling fraternity.
He started out at the Life Development Cycling Academy, Khayelitsha based NPO(www.velokhaya.com) where he showed his talent and moved up the ranks into captaining South Africa’s first Professional Development Cycling Team (Liberty Life Cycling Team) which was later Acsis Cycling Team.
During this time, he also got to represent South Africa at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Australia at the tender age of 17. Apart for playing an instrumental part in the popularity of cycling in Khayelitsha, a community in which he hails from, he was also active in the management side of the team giving direction to management and inspiring hundreds of kids who no are cyclists themselves.
At Life Development Cycling Academy/Velokhaya (NPO focusing on developing youth through sport, cycling in particular) Luthando juggled being a professional cyclist, a role model to younger upcoming youth, representing South Africa abroad on a number of occasions, pursuing his studies in journalism and being invited to the UCI (Union Cycling International in Switzerland) where he was trained at the international school of cycling.
Having done the above mentioned, in 2008 he became the first rider of colour to ride for an international team by cycling for the Danish based Glued & Marstrand Horsens Cycling Team. He was also a member of Life Cycling Academy that was invited by CSC(Computer Science Cooperation) to the 2007 Tour de France as a guest.
He was also accredited as a successful candidate at the UCI for the training he undertook. For his sportsmanship, he was awarded as the Western Province Sportsman of the year, 2007. In the same Year he was awarded the Western Province’s Mayoral award for Sport and Recreation at the age of 21 for his part in inspiring a genaration of upcoming cyclists through his work at Velokhaya.
In 2008 he won the Western Province U23 Championships. Having found time to work for Bicycling Magazine and Cape Argus daily news paper, he finally completed his journalism studies in 2009 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
He currently cycles for Team Bonitas Cycling team, formerly Team Medscheme and since 2010 has been serving on the board of Life Cycling Academy giving back to where he received so much.
Most recently through his work for the NPO as a Board member, he was instrumental in getting The Minister of Sport, Honourable Minister Mbalula to donate cycling equipment, Bicycles and helmets to Velokhaya(NPO) and much needed sports equipment to the Khayelitsha Sports Trust in May 2012, where the Minister marked the event as his legacy for participating at the 2012 Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour.
Luthando has and is showing the spirit of playing your part as he has not only inspired and still continues to inspire youth from previously disadvantaged areas from Khayelitsha to Soweto biking making it in sport considered foreign but still give back through the the organisations that serves hundreds of kids wanted a better life through sport and education.
First name: Luthando Lennox
Last name: Kaka
Email address: luthando@langesports.co.za
Telephone: 082 745 5016
