Hero cop Delene Grobler-Koonin casts a larger-than-life shadow

Detective Warrant officer Delene Grobler-Koonin died doing what she was passionate about, in the frontlines of the war against South Africa’s most dangerous criminals.

Such was the resounding message at her state funeral at Westpark Cemetery on Wednesday morning.

It is two months after her 44th birthday and a year after her promotion from sergeant and joining the elite crime-busting agency the Hawks, but according to those who attended the official ceremony, Grobler-Koonin’s legacy was built on her decades-long dedication to helping women and children and getting dangerous criminals off the streets.

She died as a member of the Hawks Technical Operations Management Section (TOMS), but before joining the Hawks, Grobler-Koonin was a member of the Serial Electronic Crime Investigation Unit and spent her days chasing down child abusers.

“All of us at Women and Men against Child Abuse (WMACA) are completely heartbroken and devastated about the tragic loss of Detective Delene Grobler-Koonin,” said WMACA founder Miranda Friedman.

“She was a friend, a colleague and an incredible warrior who defended the rights of children in our country. We had the honour to work with her on many child abuse cases for many years. These include Cloud 9 Takedown involving child pornographer William Beale, the Hewitt case and many more.

Detective Warrant officer Delene Grobler-Koonin . Picture: Facebook

“Our heartfelt condolences to her beloved family. May you have the strength to get through this. South Africa has lost a dedicated shining star in an area of work often enshrined in darkness. She was killed in the line of duty preventing a cash heist this morning. Rest in peace, Delene, and know you were loved and respected for all you did and all you were,” Friedman said.

Grobler-Koonin (44) and Sergeant Wynand Herbst (42) were shot dead in combat while intercepting a cash-in-transit (CIT) heist in the North West province a week ago. Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya was emotional but curt, as he vowed that the rest of the team would not rest until all of the suspects involved in that shootout were arrested.

‘The message that we need to deliver to those who are still out there is that we will not rest until we find everyone who was there. Currently, we can only account for seven… They think we don’t know where they are hiding, but it is only a matter of time before we find them… Some are busy calling their spouses to come and fetch them but the law-abiding citizens will bring them to our attention and we will be able to deal with them decisively.”

Grobler-Koonin started working for the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 30 March 1994 as an admin clerk till March 1997, according to her obituary, read by colleague Brigadier Shobede Nkosi. At the time she was living in Randfontein with her friend Madeleine Janse van Rensburg at the beginning of their 24-year friendship.

In April 2011, Grobler-Koonin began work at the Alexandra Family Violence and Child Protection Unit, a duty which, according to Janse van Rensburg, she maintained a fierce dedication to, despite the emotional toll it sometimes took on her.

Though Janse van Rensburg never saw first-hand the positive impact effect she had on communities she worked in, she did see the toll it took on Grobler-Koonin daily to work on some of the most heinous crimes committed against women and children in the country.

She said Grobler-Koonin would be most remembered for her work busting a series of child pornography rings, rapists and child abusers

“I saw the effect that the work she had done on child abuse, that it had on her. At that stage, she was still living in Randfontein. [She cared] too much – it got to her.  I wouldn’t be able to do what she did,” she reminisced tearfully.

– Simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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