The Mpumalanga Hawks’ spokesperson, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said her hard work is the secret to all the awards she has bagged over the past years.
She shared her journey as to how she had managed to win the award for excellent performance in the DPCI National Excellence Awards 2023 in the special category of national head’s award for effective communications.
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According to her, it is not her own power – it is God’s grace.
“All these certificates I win every year is all because of grace. I am not better than anyone, it is just the hard work I put in. Whatever I put my mind to, I do it wholeheartedly. Mostly, I do not compete with anyone. I do not knock off at 16:00, sometimes I leave work at 22:00.”
Sekgotodi said she started as a constable and worked her way up to where she is now.
She is not only the spokesperson; she is a suicide and hostage negotiator and chaplain and does social work. “I have worked with various local hospitals and have had to assist with suicide negotiations. We visit communities and get involved and assist where we can.”
Sekgotodi said what she loves about her job is to keep people safe.
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“I try my best to play my role, I enjoy my career. I want to see people happy wherever they are, even if it is a suspect. I remind them that life does not end here; even if you are arrested, you still have a life and kids.”
According to her, the most difficult challenge she faced when she started working in her current role in 2016, was that she struggled with some of the local languages.
“I would struggle when I had to do interviews. I would sometimes feel like I was undermined, and I was sometimes asked to request my colleagues to assist me by doing the work for me. Now with time, I know those languages.”
