AS Women’s Month wraps up, the Highway Mail profiles a dedicated Pinetown SAPS woman member who has just over 15 years’ service in the SAPS. Sergeant Nothando Mtshali  has found that time management is the key ingredient to juggling being a mother with her demanding and stressful police work and her studies.

As a Pinetown SAPS detective who usually handles cases of common assault, or assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), as well as domestic matters, Mtshali said a well structured timetable has been the cornerstone of her life in managing being a mother and pursuing a degree in police practices.

The scenes she sometimes attends can be highly emotionally charged, but each one, she said, is handled differently, with its unique circumstances taken into consideration, whilst the pursuit of justice is carried out with a consistent vigour.

Empathy, said Mtshali, is also crucial in many of the cases she deals with.

Some of the challenges she encounters in her line of work include interference in police investigations, which sometimes leads to victims or witnesses being deterred from coming forward.

But in instances where someone does stand up, justice claims victory, like in a recent case involving a tenant and their landlord from Emmaus just outside Westmead, where the latter hacked the former with a bushknife, an act which earned him a guilty verdict in May and a five-year prison term.

Also read: Mothers urged to be alert

Mtshali said the testimony of this landlord’s former tenant – who had gotten wind of the assault case – was very helpful in securing a guilty verdict.

“It is not easy,” said Mtshali on balancing work, her studies and being a mother but, in the first semester this year she bagged two distinctions as she goes for her second qualification.

“Time management is important. When I am at work, I push as much as I can and when I get home, I make time for my family so that they do not feel like I put work first or that my studies are more important,” said Mtshali, who added that school work is squeezed in when it is bedtime for the young ones.

As the country observes Women’s Month, Mtshali said she is proud of the amazing achievements that have been made by her peers across different sectors, and is honoured to be making a difference and a mark as a woman in her chosen career.

“I do not want to be a good example only to my children but I want other community members to look up to me and have hope that it is possible that they too can do it,” said Mtshali.

Pinetown SAPS communications officer Jennifer Naidu said: “Sergeant Nothando Mtshali is a shining example of dedication and resilience, balancing the demanding responsibilities of police work, motherhood, and her studies with remarkable discipline. I have seen first-hand that she is my go-to person in the detective unit — no task is beneath her, and she ensures that everything needed is handled efficiently while keeping you informed, no matter how busy she may be. Her ability to manage emotionally charged cases with empathy and professionalism, while still pursuing her academic goals and caring for her family, is truly inspiring.”

Naidu commented that Mtshali’s humility, reliability, and outstanding achievements exemplify the spirit of Women’s Month, showing what determination and passion can accomplish.

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