WINDHOEK– After serving two and a half years in prison, convicted car thief Willem February has turned his life around and now runs a successful upholstery business in Windhoek.
February, popularly known among his peers as “Boerewors,” was convicted in 1982 for car theft, and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Thanks to good behaviour while in jail, he only served two and a half years of his five-year sentence.
February picked up the nickname “Boerewors” in prison as word went round about his good upholstering skills among the white community.
During his time in prison, February decided to give his life to God and take up tailoring.
“I spent my time working in the tailor shop for bandits where I first did clothes. When I got released from prison I met a pastor by the name of Willem Conradie who helped me find a job in the upholstery business,” he said.
“I joined the church community; they were very welcoming and accepting of my past and helped me at bettering my life,” he reminisces.
February said the pastor took him in as if he were his own son and helped him to start up his business.
“He was better than my mother as he helped me in many ways my own family could not.”
While employed at the upholstery business, February picked up the skills of upholstering and with additional knowledge of invoicing, he saved up enough money to buy his own machinery and start his own business.
His business, February Upholstery, is very successful and has been running for over 10 years, he boasted.
It employs 23 young people. February said this was deliberate to fulfil his passion of creating job opportunities for young people.
“I choose to employ young people because I want to keep them off the streets and out of trouble,” February told New Era newspaper in an interview this week.
Looking to the future, February plans to buy a plot at Brakwater and expand his business. He hopes this will create not only more growth for his growing empire, but also more jobs for the Namibian youth.