Police officer puts her life on the line for the community

Sergeant Lungi Mbatha, who has been in the force for 16 years, has always believed in respecting and serving others. She had also wanted to be a police officer from an early age.

Currently stationed at Sandton Police Station, Mbatha expresses the joy she gets when being on duty and how the sight of danger has never pulled her away from protecting civilians. “If you love something, everything becomes easy – irrespective of the challenges and pain.

“Even though you might be feeling the pain, at a later stage you just look at the injuries and say I was trying something and I don’t regret it because of the passion. ‘The scars soon changes to a good remembrance. I love being a police officer and no one can take that away from me. I try by all means to be discipline and do what is required of me to be a better police officer for my community.”

Born in Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbatha ensures that wherever she lives, she will protect and assist people in need.

“The safety of the community that I serve always comes first before my safety. I am in this profession to protect people. I am showing that in many ways like patrolling places that are known to be hotspots and also creating awareness on the prevention of different kinds of crime.

“I expose myself to catch the criminals. I don’t see myself fighting against criminals behind a desk. That is why I prefer to go out.”

When stating what her biggest lesson was since joining the force, Mbatha responded that as a police officer she learned that she too can be a victim of crime which shows the great level of danger that officers go through on a daily basis to ensure safety within their community.

Mbatha urges members of the community to always be on high alert.