Bopape was born in Transvaal Province, in what today is Limpopo. He graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Unisa in 1987. At the time he was lecturing full-time at Dr. C.N. Phatudi College. He is the owner and editor of Seipone, a vernacular newspaper in Limpopo. Lenong la Gauta (1982) pioneered the detective novel genre in Sepedi.
