Zenzi and Konkola Naboth

We met up in Paris in June 2016 and did a great road trip for a week, seeing Giverny, the Normandy beaches and some wine areas. This was followed by a wonderful 6-day canal barge trip, joined by our friends, Gavin and Lyn George.

Kobie commandeered the barge almost immediately and he was hence forth addressed as "Kaptain Kobie" by the five nervous "crew".

Elsabe and Kobie spent some time with us in Australia. The highlight was a 3-day boat cruise from Cairns around the Great Barrier Reef.

Kobie and Jane decided after the one-hour scuba diving lesson in the sea that this was for the "moerse birds".

So, they got out, dried off and went to find the nearest bar.

His nickname for Jane was "Dingbat" (who knows why?) and she was fondly reminded to "put on your drinking boots" whenever we got together.

Until we meet again our friend,

Sadly missed, and forever in our hearts.

Tim and Jane

The news of the passing away of Kobie, though expected for some time, came as a shock to me.

I have known Kobie for over 24 years now. He played a huge and important role in my life.

He employed me back in early 2000. I think I might be the only person for whom he personally went to the Department of Home Affairs and stood in a queue for several hours to make sure that I had a work permit to be able to work for him. I had the privilege of having him as my boss for almost all of my working life of 15 years with WBHO.

He was a remarkable and natural leader who commanded respect from everyone who worked for him. His leadership qualities were unquestionable and reassuring. We could always look up to him for leadership and support in the performance of our duties and responsibilities for the company.

On a personal level, he allowed me considerable amount of freedom to do my job to the best of my abilities. His trust in me and my abilities to do the work assigned to me satisfactorily was unmistakeable. He was always happy and willing to show his appreciation for the work done by me. While at work, he would make it a point to come into my office and say a few words of appreciation and encouragement as often as he could.

His presence and leadership at Bosberaads and other similar public functions was legendary. He put in a huge effort to get to know his colleagues, subordinates, and their families well. He made us and our spouses feel special. We were made to feel that we were very much part of the larger loving and caring WBHO family. My late wife, Alice, knew Kobie well and always enjoyed interacting with him at a personal level at the various Bosberaads and other functions she was invited to. We also had the opportunity to go on some overseas trips together, which were truly special and memorable.

I will miss Kobie a lot at a personal level. I feel like I have lost someone truly special and important in my life.

I wish to take this opportunity to offer Elsabe, Lienka, Carine, and the rest of the family my most sincere and heartfelt condolences at this time of great grief and loss. May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Mathew Alex

Na graduering het Kobie gespesialiseer in konstruksiebestuur.  Hy is nie net bevorder tot besturende direkteur van een van die groot besigheideenhede in WBHO nie, maar het uitgestyg tot een van die gesiene spesialiste in konstruksiebestuur in Suid Afrika.  Hy het sy passie vir opleiding in WBHO uitgerol, en het na aftrede aansienlike waarde toegevoeg tot die ingenieurskursus by Universiteit van Pretoria.

Kobie was ‘n vriendelike en hartlike mens, en hy kan beskou word as een van die baanbrekers en ‘n gesiene reuse in konstruksiebestuur.  Kobie, ons gaan jou mis!

Carel van der Merwe

Elsabe, Lienka and Carine, may the memories of your husband/father help you find peace and comfort.

With a heavy heart I wish to give my sincere condolences to you.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

ELLIUS BOOI

Most of us were not fortunate enough to personally meet Mr Botha, but we were able to witness the way in which his daughter so deeply loved and cared for him, making us realise what a truly remarkable man he was. We are sending our love, thoughts and prayers with you all today as you share in special memories, and bid him farewell. His wonderful legacy will continue to live on in you and your beautiful children. We love you, Dr Botha and although we are unable to be there in person- please know we are here with you in spirit.

Aangesien Kobie so baie mense se lewens aangeraak tydens sy 72 j op aarde, en hier so ‘n diverse groep familie, vriende en kollegas bymekaar is om sy lewe te vier, gaan ek, met julle toestemming, in Engels voortgaan.  

This is a Farewell to a Visionary Leader, …an industry stalwart, but mostly…. to a man with a great Heart

It is with a heart heavy with grief, yet buoyed by the privilege of having known and worked under such an extraordinary leader and mentor, that I want to reflect on Kobie’s career and life at WBHO, the industry and beyond.

Kobie will always be synonymous with, not only the WBHO Roads & Earthworks Divison, but also the WBHO Group, growing it from one of the smaller players in the industry at the time he was appointed R&E Group MD around 2001, to one of the largest contractors in Southern Africa, by the time he retired in 2014.  He was instrumental in the success of this growth.

He started his career at a small consultancy in Pta in 1976, then spent a short while at the Planning Dept. of Water Affairs, before he found his true calling in the Construction industry.

First at Basil Read, but then after a number of interesting shake-ups in the industry during that time, he moved on to Peter Bayly Construction in 1981. During 1982 Peter Bayly merged with Wilson Holmes Construction to form Wilson Bayly Holmes. So in essence he has been a company man since 1981.    

With his strong leadership qualities, military style belief in discipline, attention to detail and planning, and a cunning knack to build teams that will walk through fire for the cause, Kobie was an extremely successful contractor, whom quickly was promoted through the ranks to contracts director.

In 1995 Wilson Bayly Holmes merged with Ovcon and WBHO was listed on the JSE. At that stage the market in South Africa was quite slow, so Kobie was instrumental in diversifying the R&E division into new territories. At first they moved into Botswana, then Namibia, and later Swaziland and Lesotho over the next couple of years. He played a key role in making a success of these cross-border operations, show casing his entrepreneurial flair.

These tough and challenging working conditions show cased another of his true strengths.  

Kobie stepped up in difficult times, backing his teams and going to the extra-ordinary to help and support these teams. When our team constructing a road in the Caprivi experienced serious difficulty and was under severe threat and actual attack during the late 1990, he went up in person to supported and lead the teams on the ground, from the front.

In 2001 Kobie was appointed Group MD for WBHO R&E at quite a challenging time in the group’s history. This was just after WBHO acquired Stocks Civils in 2000, which nearly doubled R&E turn over, but this came with a number of its own challenges.

Integrating a whole lot of extremely capable engineers / contractors who have been in senior positions at Stocks with the existing strong minded WBHO team could not have been easy, and many lessor men would have failed at this task. Kobie treated this take-over like a merger. Other mergers (think GLTA) proved this can be the start of the end for extremely capable entities.

As most of you know contractors can be quite strong minded, and some even stubborn characters, so Kobie had to navigate through this challenge merging the teams from WBHO & Stocks into one successful unit. His interpersonal and social skills forged a remarkable team of leaders, (on the WBHO side you had charismatic leaders like Peter Taylor and John Dittberner), and from Stocks the likes of Mike Sprott, Denis Bean and Willem Botha, who assumed key roles in operational divisions over the next decade. From this Stocks team the likes of Mike Kamyk and Taffy Harding also assumed key roles in the estimating and commercial services. To this day we still benefit from the contributions of Conradt Meyer, Jan van Tonder and Rory Cox to mention a few, whom has all come from the Stocks stable.

Kobie also embraced transformation early in his tenure, and in 2004 he was instrumental in supporting Edwin Construction when they were going through challenging times and making them part of the WBHO group. Again, his vision and leadership developed an extremely successful team at Edwin that took that company from a dire position to a very successful business unit. 

Kobie’s continuous strategic thinking and team building supported the endeavours of Mike Sprott to expand into Tanzania at first and then later into Ghana and other West African countries like Sierra Leone. Similarly, he brought in Mike Adams to lead the Mozambique efforts. This all contributed to the continuous growth and sustainability of the business.

I think everybody here can concur Kobie embodied a rare blend of visionary leadership and genuine compassion. He was a Mentor to many young engineers, and he helped develop, and forge many in WBHO, but also in the industry in general.

Post his retirement from WBHO, he continued with this role of mentoring and coaching by assisting the University of Pretoria in developing their construction management modules, providing young students a practical insight into the construction industry – something that was lacking at tertiary level.

Kobie had an extremely strong character, who knew what he wanted, and believed in implementing systems and procedures to achieve his goals. When he walked into a room people noticed – and he naturally commanded respect and a presence.

But foremost Kobie was a people’s person, he saw potential where others saw limitations, opportunity in the face of challenges, and always, the inherent value in each person in his team.

Kobies’ approach to leadership was revolutionary, crafting a culture not of hierarchy but of collaboration, where each team member’s voice was valued, and every team member was empowered to contribute their best. Kobie was always on about working together as a team, and totally against operational silo’s.

As mentioned by a number of his piers on the Padlet posts Kobie’s team building events and Bosberaad’s were legendary. The planning and attention to detail that went into these events had a touch of military precision to it. But he could not achieve this without the support of Elsabe, and her finesse and gentle touches always shone through.

Kobie placed huge effort to get to know colleagues, and their families, and he made sure our spouses felt valued and special. He ensured everyone felt part of the larger WBHO team.

(continued)

Kobie’s legacy is multifaceted, a testament to a life lived with purpose and passion.

Beyond the achievements and accolades in his work life, what stands out most is the profound human impact Kobie made on the team he led, the industry, and the community he served.

Kobie was a champion for the under privileged, driven by a deep-seated belief in the power of giving back and making a difference in people’s lives that were not as fortunate and as blessed. 

Please bear with me as I would like to relate an incident which I believe represents the true character of the man with the big heart.

A couple of years before his retirement, he bought Elsabe a nice new Mercedes and on one Saturday morning he accompanied her to the shops. He must have obviously felt guilty for not doing this regularly in the earlier parts of his career when he was mostly on sites on Saturday mornings, so I think he was trying to score some brownie points – and a lot of us can relate to this.

But the shopping soon became a bit tedious so he told Elsabe he will go and check up on the car while she is finishing off her shopping. While he was standing outside in the parking lot, he noticed a young man that came across quite destressed. The long and the short of the story is after enquiring about the young man’s angst it became clear it was his wedding day, but the plans made for the vehicle to take the bride to church has not transpired the way this youngster envisaged.

True to Kobie’s generosity he offered to be the chauffeur in Elsabe’s new vehicle. Arrangements were quickly made, Elsabe had to rush her shopping, as they had to get home, Kobie had to get the car cleaned, shower and shave (again) and dress up in his best suite to collect the bride (whom he has never met) and take her to the church.

Typically, as per Kobie’s personality, he arrived 7 minutes earlier than the time arranged, but parked outside on the verge, not to intrude on their big day. Later the bride and only her mom emerged from the house, Kobie politely opened the vehicle doors and took them to the church. On the way to the church, in his inquisitive, yet charming manner, he started a conversation with the bride, trying to set her nerves at ease on her big day. He learnt that she does not have anyone to walk her down the aisle, and so it ended with Kobie not only being the chauffeur on the day, ……but also walking her down the aisle. 

This is testament to the man he was – always going the extra mile to help others and make them feel cherished & special.      

I am sure all of you can relate to similar acts of kindness that you have witnessed from him.

In the face of adversity, including his battle with his illness, he demonstrated a resilience and strength that inspired all. He faced his diagnosis with the same grace and courage that characterized his approach to life and leadership, using it not as a cause for despair but as a platform to teach us even deeper lessons about courage, hope, and the indomitable human spirit.

As we bid farewell to Kobie, let us honour his memory by embodying the values he espoused. Let us continue to pursue excellence with integrity, to lead with empathy and kindness, and to live with a positive attitude. In doing so, we not only keep his spirit alive but also contribute to the lasting legacy Kobie has left behind.

To Elsabe, Lienka and Karien, I would like to thank you for supporting him during his tenure at WBHO – I know you have sacrificed a lot for many years that he was committed to the construction industry. But we have been privileged to be part of his team. We could always look up to him for leadership, guidance and support in the performance of our duties and responsibilities. We have lost a great leader. A man of integrity, and with unique qualities.

My most sincere and heartfelt condolences go out to you as his family, at this time of grief and loss.

God has called him to a better place.

“…What a guy…”