MALVERN SAPS recently appointed Sgt Sthembile Kheswa as its new communications offi cer to ensure the station communicates clearly with the community it serves.
Service
A big part of Kheswa’s new job is to insure there is a good working relationship between the police members and the Community Policing Forum (CPF). Her position which also includes media liaison is one Kheswa said she is excited to take on.
While she admits she never really thought of joining the police while she was growing up, Kheswa said being a volunteer when finishing school in 2004 helped her make the decision.
“I don’t want to lie. To be in police service wasn’t on my mind,” she said.
“When I lost my mom and my dad lost his job, I told myself I will take anything that comes for me to have food on the table for my family,” she explained.
“I reside near Umlazi SAPS, so when I had an opportunity to do voluntary duties there it felt like this was the opportunity that God gave me,” she explained.
ALSO READ: Man struck by rock on M7 recovering from his ordeal
Domestic violence
Prior to her new role, Kheswa dealt with victims of domestic violence as part of her work in the station’s community service centre. It was her skill at dealing with victims of domestic violence that attracted the attention of her station commander, Lt Col Val Reddy.
“Prior to her appointment as communications offi cer, Sgt Kheswa was the appointed second-hand-goods official and domestic violence official,” said Reddy.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Missing Gillitts man found dead, Bellair SAPS investigates
“She is still being retained as the domestic violence officer.” Reddy explained that in a small station police officials multi task. “Sgt Kheswa also wears the cap of being the station’s sexual-harassmentoffi cer,” she said adding that as such she deals with complaints both from inside and outside the station. “She is also the SAPS link with schools and Malvern SAPS Social Crime Prevention Officer.”
GBV
Kheswa’s role in dealing with domestic violence will remain an important component of her duties especially given the focus on gender-based violence (GBV) highlighted by Police Minster Bheki Cele, who specifically mentioned the likelihood that women during lockdown might not have been able to report incidences of violence.
“Low numbers ofdomestic abuse andsexual offences reported cases could have been due to some women not being able to escape their abusers and could not report crimes committed against them,” said Cele speaking before the crime statistics for the first quarter of 2020 were released.
ALSO READ: Spitting cobra rescued in Hillary
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts. Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
