Yusuf Abramjee
CRIME activist, straighttalker and newshound Yusuf Abramjee knew he wanted to be a journalist when he was a little boy. He said his passion for news came from his father and grandfather who were always well-informed.
Abramjee, 53, pursued a “career of convenience” in teaching after he matriculated at the Transvaal College of Education in Laudium. He returned to his old high school, Laudium High, to teach Afrikaans to Grade 9 pupils.
“I repeated the same lesson to seven classes each day,” said Abramjee. “A year later, I got a job as a spokesman at the Department of Education. And finally my life-long dream of becoming a journalist was achieved when I joined the SABC – where I worked for three years. I then became the owner and editor of the Laudium Sun and sold that to join Talk Radio 702.”
Abramjee joined Talk Radio 702 as a freelance reporter, based in Pretoria, before the first democratic election in 1994. A year later he was appointed a fulltime journalist. He said his beat was crime and in 1996 he became the crime editor for Talk Radio 702 and Cape Talk 567.
“I became synonymous with breaking news and arrived at many crime scenes, accidents and fires even before the police or emergency services even knew about it,” said Abramjee. “The highlight of my career was when I cornered fugitive cash heist kingpin, Collen Chauke, hours after he was arrested. I managed to get the famous words: ‘I feel good’ out of Chauke as he left the court building. It made national headlines and the story won me a few awards. For three consecutive years, I was named journalist of the year, audio-visual reporter of the year and radio reporter of the year for my exclusive reports from crime to politics.”
In early 2001, Abramjee was appointed acting news editor and then station manager of Talk Radio 702. In June 2005, he became Primedia broadcasting group’s head of news and talk programming. Abramjee was one of the main founders of the Crime Line campaign. In June 2007 it was officially launched with him at the helm. The successes are well-recorded – thousands of arrests have been made and millions of rands in stolen property, counterfeit goods and drugs have been seized thanks to tip-offs to Crime Line, said Abramjee. He headed crime line to December 2015.
Born in the township of Lady Selborne, north-west of Pretoria, he said his family were forced out of the area in the early 1980s under the Group Areas Act.
“I grew up in this area and we were the last family to be forced out,” he said. “I have fond memories of my dad, Ebrahim “Boetie” Abramjee’s shop, the achaar factory he started, the farm-like surroundings with cattle and poultry. We relocated to Laudium in 1984. My father, who is now retired, was involved in community affairs for years and was also active in politics.”
Abramjee and his wife Firoza now live in Erasmia, west of Pretoria. They have two sons, Faheem, 28, and Zaheer, 23. The family recently celebrated Faheem’s marriage to Ma’rufa.
Among his many accolades, Abramjee added a feather to his cap when he became the first non-white person to be elected chairman of the National Press Club (NPC) in its 22-year history. He was re-elected chairman in July 2001 and in May 2002. He took over the reins at the NPC again from 2010 to 2012. Abramjee was also a member of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef). To top his journalism, career he took the salute from the National Ceremonial Guard in May 2001 at Church Square, Pretoria for his contributions to the media.
Other awards he received over the years include; the Security Association of South Africa’s security personality of the year award in September 2001 and 2007; The Pretoria 2000 Toastmasters leadership and communicator of the year award in June 2005; in June 2008, he received recognition from SAPS top management for contributing to the fight against crime – with reference to Crime Line. In 2010 Abramjee scooped three top international media awards for Crime Line, an initiative he led , at Crime Stoppers International (CSI) in Halifax, Canada.
In February 2011, he received a community service award from the Turquoise Harmony Institute for his continued work with Crime Line. He was also awarded by Toastmaster International with the 2011 Communication & Leadership Award.
In November 2011 he was named the Financial Mail Adfocus news-maker of the year for grabbing headlines in his efforts to assist in curbing the rise in police killings.
This initiative subsequently raised R2.1 million for the Police Widows and Orphans Fund. He has also been at the forefront of challenges to government’s Protection of State Information Bill. In 2014, Abramjee received the highest award from the government Order or Baobab, a silver award was presented to him by President Jacob Zuma for community service.
Abramjee is one of the founding members of Lead SA, a Primedia Broadcasting and Independent Media initiative. Lead SA aims to highlight the achievements of the nation and celebrate the efforts of ordinary South Africans who continually seek to do the right thing for themselves, their families, their communities and the country at large. “It encourages individuals to stand up and Lead SA,” Abramjee said.
“In December 2015, I left Primedia to take up the position of global communications director of Crime Stoppers International (CSI) and also chair of the media committee,” he said. “A year later I launched Operation Hydrate and later Operation SA, both non-profit organisations focusing on humanitarian work.”
Abramjee said he loved making a difference, assisting those in need and is passionate about fighting crime and making South Africa safe. He says he always encourages people to stop whining, or blaming the government (although we must hold them accountable) – and do what they can to move the country forward. “Criminals are running amok and we cannot sit back any longer,” he said. Police, he added, are working under difficult circumstances and could do with the help.
All these initiatives and titles would be more than a handful for most, but for Abramjee it’s about making a difference and helping people.
“I love the freedom to work on multiple projects simultaneously. I work at speed and with urgency. If I don’t, I will get left behind,” he said.
“But when I do get a moment, I enjoy relaxing with my family and going for long walks.”
So what else is left on his bucket-list – any chance of getting into politics?
“I love politics and have been approached repeatedly to get involved. Who knows? perhaps some day I will. There is a leadership vacuum in South Africa and we need honest and hard-working public officials. Many are useless and we need leaders who are passionate and committed,” he said.
His future Abramjee says lies in God’s hands – but he hopes he can continue doing his bit to make South Africa better. “Maybe I will be in parliament or possibly retire,” he said.