Vhembe SAPS boss warns new members

Two-hundred new police members were welcomed and addressed by the head of the Vhembe SAPS, District Commissioner Maj-Gen Eddie van der Walt, during a parade held in Thavhani Mall’s parking lot on Saturday, 16 December.

Not even the falling rain could dampen the spirits of the recruits, who were deployed to their respective stations soon afterward to start their duties officially as police officers. Most of the new members were deployed to Thohoyandou, which came as no surprise, considering the alarming crime rate in the area.

Van der Walt warned the new members not to befriend criminals. “Criminals are not your friends. If you choose to become friends with them, know that they will corrupt you, and you will become a criminal yourself. You are here to serve your community and keep it safe, not the interests of criminals,” he said.

Van der Walt further indicated that Vhembe is slowly but surely winning the fight against crime. “We used to have many robberies every day, but this has been drastically reduced. There used to be persistent gunshots fired at night. Where are they now? We are taking control, and we are happy that we managed to arrest most of these criminals. With the additional members and support from the community, we are hopeful that we will rid our area of crime once and for all,” he said.

Van der Walt urged the newly deployed officers to always take care. “We have invested a lot in you, and your life is very important to us. Please take care of yourselves,” he said.

Mr Richard Ramabulana of the Vhembe Concerned Group hailed the new intakes as a boon to bolster the available human resources. “We are very excited as a community, and we are hopeful that this would enhance police visibility over the festive period,” he said.

Date:22 December 2023

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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