Four decades of service celebrated
Seasoned policewoman served as a detective for the first 21 years
ENDING off her career in the South African Police Service (SAPS) with 42 years of unbroken service, Warrant Officer Gerda Van Niekerk says she exits the force on a high and would happily do it all over again.
The seasoned policewoman served as a detective for the first 21 years and the latter in Visible Policing.
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Van Niekerk, she knew she wanted to be a policewoman from the age of 10 after hearing that women could enlist in the force.
“My mother didn’t agree with it but when I turned 18 I joined the force in 1981 and soon after in 1985 I was the first female employed at Randfontein.
‘When the Child Protection Unit was established in 1985 I was one of the first females to join the team and later moved to Nelspruit in 1993.
“I moved to Richards Bay in 2002 and over the years I have had the privilege of working on numerous cases but two come to mind as being the most significant: a rapist who was found and sentenced for the rape of an 81 year old woman and another a serial killer who had taken many lives in 1996 in Krugersdorp,” she said.
Committed
For her farewell last week, members of her shift organised a special celebration to honour her contributions and wish her well in her retirement.
“I have enjoyed my years in the force and left on an extremely high note with my shift members organising such a beautiful celebration to mark my retirement.
“I was truly overwhelmed by the love and appreciation, the kind words of support and the farewell gifts.
“Over the years, Shift B has always been my family and we worked well and I learnt so many traditions and exchanged so many experiences.
“In my retirement I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family, enjoying my gardening, crochet and having more fun times with my little girl.
“During Covid 19 I had some time to learn new hobbies so it helped prepare for my retirement, now I have activities to keep me busy.”
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