Meet the female cop with nerves of steel who gets rid of bombs

While many women aspire to having plum corporate jobs where dress sense matters, SA Police Service (SAPS) bomb disposal specialist Mammokso Motaung has traded her best clothes for a heavy bomb suit.

Also referred to as the explosive ordinance disposal or blast suit, the garb is a heavy outfit of body armour, designed to withstand the pressure generated by a bomb blast and any fragments the explosive may produce.

It is a suit only fit for trained SAPS experts, one of them being Motaung.

She enjoys every moment of her job “to save lives”.

On a daily basis, Motaung responds to bomb-related incidents, including ATM bombings, cash in transit heists, explosives recoveries or suspicious parcels where she identifies explosive devices to defuse.

Her primary responsibilities include conducting bomb scene investigations, where she handles the identification, collection and examination of evidence.

Motaung’s enormous task extends to assisting with investigations on any gas, chemical or other explosion, which may cause severe property damage, injury and death.

In an interview with Saturday Citizen, Motaung expressed much passion for the challenging job, which puts her in an environment dominated by men.

“At all times, my focus is to save lives, because if a bomb goes off and people are close, they can die. When I arrive at a scene, I command everyone to evacuate, because bomb scenes are extremely dangerous.

“The first thing I do upon approaching the scene is to find the device. When I’m sure of what type of device I’m dealing with, I then decide what type of equipment to use.

“In an instance when the bomb has already exploded, my responsibility is to collect the evidence. If the bomb has not gone off, my job is to dispose of it to ensure that it doesn’t explode,” explains Motaung.

Last month’s mayhem of unrest and massive looting in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng kept Motaung and colleagues busy, due to bombings of ATM machines being part of the violence unleashed by mobs.

Recalls Motaung: “During the recent unrest, we recovered explosives inside an ATM at a Boksburg depot that was looted.

“I disarmed the explosives inside the safe, making the area safe. I then collected the explosives, booking them for safekeeping and further investigation.

“I would like to advise bystanders and communities to always stay away from crime scenes where there have been
ATM bombings or cash-in-transit heists. These crime scenes can often be dangerous, particularly when explosives are used in such robberies. There are instances when members of the community are attracted to crime scenes to pick up bank notes.

“It is possible that not all explosives were detonated at the time when the robbery was committed, posing a risk for the detonator by exploding in their presence and leading to loss of life.”

Operating in a dangerous and male-dominated setting often sees Motaung being the centre of public attention.

“The community and other male colleagues are often amazed when they see a woman efficiently doing this job and commanding such respect and authority.”

“I feel special because I’m not intimidated by my male counterparts. Whatever they can do, I can do better. My colleagues and I complement each other at crime scenes – they even forget they are working with a woman. I would like to encourage more women to trust their capabilities and work hard to get what they want to derive. “If you believe in yourself as a woman, you can do anything and make a difference. I encourage women to join this field of
explosives.

“If I can do it, anybody else can, because it is not a male preserve. I think what deters some women is a fear of dealing with explosives and perhaps lack of knowledge in the field,” she says.

As one of 18 female bomb-disposal specialists within SAPS, where did it all begin for Motaung? Born in the Free State town of Phuthaditjhaba, Motaung, 37, began her career in 2003 as a police reservist attached to a local police station.

Her interest in pursuing a police career began when she was 19. She served as a police reservist, performing part-time policing functions.

In 2005, she applied for a permanent post as an accounting clerk at the Park Road police station in Bloemfontein – a position she held for six years.

In 2011, Motaung was offered a chance to undergo the basic police learning development programme as a trainee
at the SAPS Tshwane Academy in Pretoria.

After her appointment as a fully fledged constable, Motaung was deployed to Phuthaditjhaba to serve and protect her community.

In 2016, she joined the Germiston explosives unit after undergoing the prescribed training. She has been in the job for 16 years.

– brians@citizen.co.za