Captain retires from SAPS after 38 years of diligent service
Retired Captain Fikile Hadebe said she will focus more on her church duties as she will now have more time on her hands.
Captain Fikile Hadebe, who has put away her uniform after 38 years in the SAPS, says her childhood dream was to be a policewoman.
“Back then, there was little female visibility in the police, but that never stopped me,” she told the Courier during her farewell function at Dundee police station, where she was the head of administration.
Going down memory lane, Hadebe recalled joining the police in 1985 and undergoing training at the Tladi Police Academy.
It was at this time, during unrest in the country, that hand grenades were thrown into the campus that killed a trainee and injured scores of others in March 1987.
She said she will never forget that incident, as it was very traumatising and will stay with her forever.
Hadebe’s first post was working for the local police station situated in Sibongile.
Back in the day, according to her, she was the only black woman at the station.
“In 1994, when the country became a democracy, we went back for training under the new government. During the training process, I was still the only black woman on campus,” she explained.
Hadebe added that, upon returning from training, she started working at the Dundee charge office and then later joined the administration department.
“I later worked in court as an administrator and back then, we used to write court reports in Afrikaans. I was there for 23 years.”
In 2010, she was promoted to captain and headed Archives & Registry in the Administration Department.
A mother to three boys, Hadebe married her high school sweetheart.
According to her, as a church devotee and firm believer in Christ, she used to preach to prisoners after they were sentenced. She told them to repent and helped them grow spiritually so that they could live their lives according to God’s teachings.
“I remember this one prisoner in particular, from Empangeni, who was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment for murder and robbery. I would always preach to him whenever I’d visit the prison. When he was released from prison, he came looking for me and when he finally found me, he showered me with gifts of appreciation,” beamed Hadebe.
She hopes her colleagues don’t forget her teachings. She concluded that people must always love and respect their jobs, be trustworthy, and always take pride in what they do.
