Cape Town Central police station has a new detective and he’s vowed to come with “guns blazing.”
Despite being fairly new in the police service, Detective Lungisa Makhosi’s determination and hard work has resulted in him being appointed the youngest detective at the station.
The 29-year-old said he’s always been passionate about solving crime and determined to make a change in his community.
He said he started to apply to join SAPS in 2014 and although he passed the written test, he was knocked out by the fitness test. But he didn’t give up and kept on applying until he was accepted in 2019.
“I went to the police college in Oudtshoorn where I was taught everything to know about police and law. After my training, I was deployed to the Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) in Harare station before I was permanently deployed to the Cape Town Central in 2020,” he said.
He worked on the CPU at the station and made good arrests and a few months later he was told that he would be a detective and was given his own office.
“Initially, I didn’t know how to take it but I realised in the police force, you only go where they need you. So I had to come, adjust and serve,” he said.
Detective Makhosi said he’s managed to build healthy relationships with victims and complainants and always tries to keep them updated.
“I exchanged my number with them and even when I’m not working, they text me to ask progress in the cases. So far, they’ve been satisfied with my work,” he said.
He said he understands that people have complaints about how police manage cases, but they don’t know the work that they do behind closed doors to solve cases. “At the Cape Town Central police station, we’re trying to pick up the image of SAPS day-by-day,” he said.
Resident Maureen Marshall said her family had twice been victims of crime in the City Bowl. In the first burglary, a diamond and sapphire ring which her daughter had recently inherited, was stolen, and a couple of days later her son’s scooter was stolen from outside their house.
”Detective Makhosi from Cape Town Central worked tirelessly and with great compassion to retrieve our stolen goods. To date, he has recovered the scooter and assures me he will do everything in his power to retrieve our precious ring,” she said.
But this is what should be expected of the police, said Detective Makhosi. “They can expect guns blazing, we will leave no stone unturned. We’re young and we won’t rest until these issues have been solved,” he said.
