Cops who know how to clean up

Port Elizabeth sergeants win top team honour at SAPS annual excellence awards

TWO of Port Elizabeth’s most dedicated men in blue came out tops at the Eastern Cape SAPS annual excellence awards in East London on Friday night. The awards, held at the Regent Hotel, recognise, honour and reward exceptional services rendered by diligent members of the police force.

Members of the Port Elizabeth Flying Squad, sergeants Severiano Blundin and Sphumelele Msindwana, were awarded the Vispol team of the year award – something they said would encourage them to do even more.

Msindwana, 38, a second-generation policeman, said he had been with the police for 13 years and a member of the flying squad for 11.

“I’ve always wanted to be a cop but I deferred and studied social work at Transkei University [now known as Walter Sisulu University].

“But in my second year, I saw an advert which said SAPS was looking for people and I applied,” Msindwana said.

No stranger to winning awards, Blundin, 30, who recently won the Annual Tracker Individual Award for retrieving the most stolen and hijacked vehicles in the country, said it took a lot of hard work to do and achieve the things he and his partner did.

“These awards just inspire us to better serve and protect the community because it’s definitely a passion of ours,” Blundin said.

Msindwana said even though he was Blundin’s senior, they worked as a unit.

“We’ve been partners for two years now. We’ve got the same work ethic because even though we only work four days a week, we always do our homework, come prepared to tackle the next task and even though our work hours are six to six, we sometimes leave at midnight because we want to make sure things are quiet,” Msindwana said.

Captain Khaya Tonjeni said one of the many reasons Msindwana and Blundin were given the award was the fact that “they go beyond the call of duty and what is expected of them”.

“They’ve got a great partnership, they worked efficiently with the tracking devices from Tracker and not only that but Blundin also turned down a R200 000 bribe from a suspect,” Tonjeni said.

He said between the two sergeants, “they have made 211 arrests in one financial year, recovered 157 vehicles, recovered narcotics to the value of R4.5-million and recovered 24 unlicensed firearms.”

Safety and Liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana said the excellence awards ceremony separated those who joined the police to serve from those who joined for employment security.

“Those awarded tonight will restore confidence in the community. This year we have also increased the number of nominees to include those employees whose hard work is not recognised because they serve in the back office.”

Other winners from Nelson Mandela Bay included officers from Kwazakhele who won the Vispol team of the year in the visible policing, crime operation and public order policing category, the Gelvandale SAPS in the administration team category and chief administration clerk Rico Schutte from Uitenhage who took home the sports star of the year award.

Tikana on Friday also offered four sheep to the SAPS choir, bestowed with the provincial commissioner’s good ambassador award. – Additional reporting Daily Dispatch.