Boksburg police sergeant thriving in her job and as a single mom

As August is Women’s Month, the Advertiser will shine the spotlight on Boksburg women pushing boundaries in their respective fields. This week the Advertiser had a chat with Sergeant Phina Matwetja, of the Social Crime Prevention Unit at the Boksburg North SAPS.

The unit deals with family matters, domestic abuse, maintenance, missing persons and community projects. She is not just an officer in a blue uniform, she’s a strong independent woman whose been through a lot but still kept her head high. She is a single mother to her 13-year-old daughter.

From humble beginnings

Matwetja hails from a village called Maphonto in Bochum, Limpopo, where she grew up with her four siblings. She came to Gauteng in 1998 to live with her father who was staying in Delmore Gardens and matriculated from Reiger Park Secondary School that same year.

The following year, Matwetja enrolled at Lazarus Nhlapo College to complete an introduction to N4 and at another college, in Parktown, where she continued her Human Resource Management N4 and N5.

“While doing my N5 in 2001, I had to drop out because I was accepted at the SAPS. My father is a firm believer in education, so he wasn’t delighted at all about my decision to quit school and join the SAPS. I remember I disclosed to him that I was accepted at the SAPS one month before I went to the SAPS training college. I didn’t want to tell him earlier because he would’ve discouraged me,” Matwetja said.

The 41-year-old said she enjoys her work in the SAPS because she is in a space where she helps people and creates a safe environment in communities.

In 2017, she was second runner-up in the Police Officer of the Year category. In 2018, she received the Woman of the Year award in the Ekurhuleni Cluster. In 2019, she bagged two provincial SAPS awards and was second runner-up in the Police Officer of the Year category.

“Since I started working at this unit my team and I have managed to bring solutions to many families, which has brought me nothing but joy,” she said.

Matwetja said in her line of work she has come across a lot of women who have lost their confidence and power due to the challenges they face.

“Women stay in abusive relationships because of financial problems. They are unemployed, so when their partners treat them like trash they tend to keep quiet because they depend on that person,” she said.

The ambassador against domestic violence said she encourages women who are in an abusive relationship to report their partners. She said the longer they keep quiet, the more vulnerable they become, and they might end up being killed.

Breaking out

Matwetja said while she was pregnant she decided to walk out of a toxic relationship.

“I raised my child as a single woman and not even once in my life did I feel the void of being a single parent. When my child was born in 2007 she suffered from a heart condition.

She had to stay in hospital for six months.” She said she sometimes felt like giving up but then she remembered the Sepedi proverb “Mosadi o swara thipa ka bogaleng”, which means woman grabs the knife on its sharp side.

“I had to be strong for my child. I’m happy that she’s now healthy and strong,” she said.

Happily, ever after

The courageous woman, who is single by choice, says she enjoys being single.

“I don’t rely on men to give me happiness. I have made a choice to stay single because its working for me. I am a very dignified woman. I respect and love myself very much,” she said.

She is studying towards a three-year diploma in project management at the Southern Business School.

Her message to women: “Do not rely on men to give you happiness or money. Own up to yourself and be an independent woman who is courageous and not afraid to voice her opinions.”

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