Sector 2 manager moves up the ranks

Newly promoted Honeydew Police officer, Warrant Officer Nicholas Makhura, was recently recognised for his unwavering service in the policing fraternity.

The former sergeant, who now has to forgive many for constantly referring to him by his old rank while familiarising themselves with the new one, recently earned his promotion after 10 years of nothing but dedication to his line of duty.

The Northsider caught up with Makhura to chat about his life in the police force. Speaking about the promotion, he said: “It’s good to be recognised for the job that I’ve been doing for the station. This also goes to show that if you work hard, someone is watching and you will be recognised eventually”.

Serving the community seemed to be Makhura’s calling, as he volunteered at the station for almost five years. “In 1997, I joined Honeydew Police Station as a reservist. In 2002 joined the station permanently, after going to college and then graduating,” he explained.

Makhura, who has only worked at Honeydew Police Station, served in a number of departments before he was promoted to a sector management position about six years ago.

“When I came back from the college, I first worked in the Client Service Centre (CSC), then I moved up to crime prevention, went on to become a field training officer and in 2013 I was nominated as sector manager,” he recalled.

Makhura is the current Sector 2 manager and sits in at the monthly Honeydew Sector 2 Community Policing Forum (CPF) meetings where crime and other issues affecting the community and the station are discussed.

At the helm, he said he implemented some of the educational strategies to fight crime among residents such as the domestic workers’ forum, which assists tremendously in combating crime.

“The idea came about when I would attend a crime scene and find that domestic workers and gardeners were the most affected by the crimes since they were always on their employers’ property while the owners are away. I came to the realisation that domestic workers and gardeners had to be educated about preventative tips, “he explained.

Among the solutions he came up with to curb crime was the creation of a WhatsApp group for the domestics for communication purposes. He also saw a need to educate homeowners to be wary of what they dispose of in their bins, alluding to the fact that empty appliance boxes left outside property can draw criminals onto the property.

While the recruitment process to join the police is under way, Makhura had a few words for the successful applicants. “Luckily for them when they return from college, they will be under my supervision. I’ve been a field trainer since 2008. Firstly, I give them some background about myself and teach them that there are no short-cuts in the police in order to be recognised. If they work hard and stay away from corruption, their work will be recognised, and also if they put in the hours to serve the community, they will be compensated with a rest day or any reward at the station,” he explained, wishing all applicants the best of luck.

The Sector 2 CPF chairperson, Neville Burnett, congratulated Makhura. “On behalf of all the Sector 2 Resident Associations and residents, we would like to congratulate Warrant Officer Makhura on his recent and very well-deserved promotion. He has for a number of years worked tirelessly to assist the Sector 2 community,” he concluded.

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