Khayelitsha police commander wins Senior Operational Manager of the Year Award

It feels good to be recognised while you are still alive instead of people waiting to be no more before they start talking about you.
Those were the words of Khayelitsha Police Station commander Brig Khuthala Masakala after she won the Senior Operational Manager of the Year certificate together with an award during the Western Cape Excellence Awards which were held at Century City on Saturday 17 Saturday.
Masakala refused to claim the victory saying that it was about teamwork. She praised the community stakeholders for their role in combating crime in the area.
“It is not about me. It is about teamwork which includes the neighbourhood watch, community policing forum, spiritual crime prevention, community in blue etc. My job is to create a conducive environment for everybody. When there’s a community meeting, we go together,” she said. She said ever since she started working in the station two years ago the crime is gradually decreasing in the Khayelitsha precinct. (“New Station commander vows to tackle crime in Khayelitsha“‘, City Vision, 12 September 2024).
She mentioned carjacking, robbery and extortion as some of the cases that are mostly reported. However, she stated that they have a challenge of people who are not reporting extortion related incidents for fear of something they don’t know.
“We are targeting our hotspots where we conduct vehicle check points also known as roadblocks. We make sure that there is police visibility everywhere. We also have members of the NHW and CPF who are always on the ground assisting us in squeezing the space for criminals,” she explained, adding that most motorists who are targeted are Uber drivers.
Masakala urged the community members not to take the law into their own hands.