Warrant Officer Charles Thabiso Ramoikatso is going on retirement after serving in the South African Police Service (SAPS) since 1989.
Ramoikatso, fondly known as ‘Sly’, was first employed at the SAPS as a special constable. Four years later, he was sworn in as a constable. Then, in 1996, he was transferred to communication services, where he worked alongside Captain Venter and GB Xulu. He says they worked as a team, solving conflicts that took place in the taxi industry over the years. He also conducted many crime awareness campaigns at various schools and colleges. 1996 also saw him being promoted to the rank of sergeant.
In 1999, he received another promotion to work as an inspector, a rank that later changed its name to warrant officer. Throughout the years working for the SAPS, he worked closely with young people, as he was also the co-ordinator of the Youth Desk. He went as far as identifying talented young people at schools and teaching them drama and arts.
Ramoikatso says that while he was teaching young people to act, his colleague, Captain Venter, organised and booked for him and his group to perform at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. “I managed to attend the festival for a full five years, which was a big achievement for the Youth Desk. We represented KwaZulu-Natal police in different places.”
He goes on to say that, “While I was serving in the SAPS for all these years, I managed to do different courses that led me to obtain many certificates including human rights, sector policing, communication, street survival CPF, crime prevention and many others. I am also a trained hostage and suicide negotiator.”
Ramoikatso says that even though he is going on retirement, he will continue to do drama, as he started acting when he was still a young man in 1986 when he formed the Bhekuzulu Theatre Group. One of the many plays he wrote and performed in was called ‘Akekho Ongcono’ (No One Is Better). He wrote and performed in plays that focused on social and economic issues.
He also plans to be a private hostage negotiator.
Ramoikatso says he enjoyed and will miss working with all his colleagues – Warrant Officer Magubane; Sergeant Khumalo, Zwane and Nyembe; and social workers Miss Sibiya and Manqele. He is blessed to have a wife and children who are supportive of him; and would like to thank his family, his colleagues at Vryheid SAPS, and the community at large for trusting him during his time in the SAPS.

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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.