This week, as part of its Women’s Month celebrations, the SAPS celebrated its women in blue who have shown their bravery and dedication in the fight against crime.
One of these women was Divisional Commissioner for Visible Policing and Operations, Lieutenant General Maropeng Johanna Mamotheti, who was honoured during a ceremony this week.
According to SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, Mamotheti has 36 years of service, having joined the organisation in 1987 as a student constable.
Mathe said Mamotheti was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general as a Divisional Commissioner for Visible Policing and Operations on March 1. She is responsible for providing strategic leadership and management to ensure effective crime prevention through the provision of visible policing and operation services.
“She now leads and manages more than 19 000 members who are responsible for visible policing including Operational Response Services (ORS) units such as the Public Order Policing (POP) unit, Tactical Response Teams (TRT), Counter Assault Team (CAT), and the Special Task Force (STF).
“The Border Policing Unit, which is responsible for securing our land, sea and airports and the Mobile Operations Unit, which is responsible for securing of precious metals and minerals, also fall under her command,” Mathe said.
Before her promotion she served in various positions in the SAPS including deputy provincial commissioner for Support Services in the Northern Cape and component head for Social Crime Prevention where she was responsible for enhancing partnership policing programmes.
Mamotheti, who holds a diploma in policing, a BTech degree in policing and a BCom in human resource management, said her mission was to fight violent crime by removing all illegal firearms from the streets.
“The focus of our operations is to remove illegal firearms off our streets. We are seizing firearms on a weekly basis and our goal is to ensure we make the country a safer place to live in. Firearms are the most preferred weapon when violent crime is committed and that is why we must intensify our operations in this regard,” she said.
Mamotheti also served as the component head of Firearms, Liquor and Second-Hand Goods (FLASH) at head office.
Mathe said under her command, they reduced the backlog in firearm licensing and firearms amnesty applications by 94%.
“In the 2021/2022 financial year, she oversaw the finalisation of more than 531 000 firearms-related applications. The effective management of the amnesty applications reduced the number of illegal firearms in circulation in the country.
“In this role, she has also overseen the destruction of more than 263 000 firearms that were voluntarily surrendered to the state and confiscated during crime-combating operations across the country,“ said Mathe.
Last week, in the Eastern Cape, the SAPS honoured Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Lillian Mene, the Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape, who was appointed to the position on December 1, 2021.
Mene, armed with a BTech degree in policing, is a seasoned officer with 40 years of service in the SAPS, having joined the service in 1984. She is responsible for 199 police stations and several specialised units in the province.
Saturday Star