Tzaneen police officers thrive at the SAPS Prestige Awards
Tzaneen’s flag flew high at the SAPS Provincial Prestige Awards held at Castle Dewildt Conference Facility in Modimolle recently.
Lt Col Jenny Meyer was named the 2022 Investigator of the Year at the Family Violence, Children Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (level 8-12).
Meyer told the Herald that she is over the moon with the award, especially in the light of fact that it is the first time in her 29-year career that she has won an award. She is also part of the team who won the Best Investigative Team of the Year.
Her team comprises of Cpt Beverly Mbezi Maxangu, Cpt Steven Masetla, Brig Chris Mabasa, WO Helray Mmola, Sgt Joyce Rakgoale, Sgt Nkhensani Sithole and Capt Hlengane Baloyi.
They were specifically awarded for the work they did to catch the Burgersdorp Village Facebook serial rapist. The team arrested the suspect in November last year. Meyer was the team leader in the case, but she says it was team work, which led to the breakthrough in the case.
“I would like to thank all my team members, colleagues, provincial and district commanders and all my superiors, as they make our jobs easy,” she said.
Another Tzaneen-based winner was WO Mzamana Mhangwana, who was named the Local Criminal Record Centre Employee of the Year (level 5-7). He has been in the SAPS for the past 31 years and has spent 21 years as a fingerprint expert and he is currently a dedicated AFIS expert.
His duties include attending to crime scenes, fingerprint scanning and forensics among other duties.
“I’m happy to have been acknowledged for doing what I love. This shows that when one works with full dedication, management takes notice and it bares fruit,” he said. Meanwhile, Brig Charles Masinamela, Tzaneen Police Station commander, applauded the officers for their great work and dedication.
“We are happy for them as their work speaks for itself, they work with big cases and manage to execute it well,” he concluded.
