As the country observes women’s month, the South African Police Service joins the nation in celebrating the strength and resilience of women in policing who in their daily duties strive towards making South Africa a much safer and better place to live in.

This is the first of a series of profiles of women officers who often go beyond the call of duty to serve and protect the people of the Republic of South Africa.

Today, we introduce the nation to the organization’s first female Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Policing.

Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili was appointed in the position with effect from 01 July 2022. As the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for Policing, Mosikili is responsible for overseeing all Visible Policing and Operational environments, as well as Protection Security Services (PSS). She also takes over the role as Co-Chairperson of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS). In addition to her roles, she is also overseeing the Crime Detection environment.

The officer possesses 33 years’ service having joined the organization in 1989 as a student constable.

Born and bred in the Free State, this highly decorated female officer boasts three decades in the detective and visible policing environment where she served the organization in a number of roles including, as an Investigator, a Station Commander of Mangaung, Makoane, Maokeng, Tseki and Bethlehem Police Stations and the Provincial Head responsible for Visible Policing in the Free State. She also served as the Deputy Provincial Commissioner responsible for Crime Detection in Gauteng.

As she steadily rose through the ranks, Mosikili went on to hold even more senior roles within the organization. Prior to this appointment, she had been serving as the Deputy National Head: Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) since August 2020. Her extensive experience and expertise in solving cases landed her the role of Divisional Commissioner: Detective Services in 2018.

Between 2016 and 2018 she was responsible for overseeing the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigations (FCS) Unit. In this role she was overseeing 176 units and nine Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations Units across the country. The FCS unit is responsible for the policing of crimes against women, children, and vulnerable groups. Family Violence related crimes include GBV, sexual offences, person-directed crimes (where the family is involved), the illegal removal or kidnapping of children under 12 and crimes facilitated through electronic media.

She has represented the country in New York, Singapore, Netherlands and America on crime fighting efforts and in addition also serves as a board member of Crime Stoppers International (CSI). CSI is a global non-profit organization representing seven regions committed to supporting law enforcement efforts to prevent and solve crime by mobilizing citizens to anonymously share information about crime and suspected illegal activity.

Following her appointment, Mosikili says one of her immediate priorities is to ensure heightened police visibility throughout the country.

“Our focus is to ensure South Africans are and feel safe. In our quest to make the country a much better place to live in, we are working on ensuring that we have more boots and resources on the ground so that we are able to prevent, combat and investigate cases”, said Lt Gen Mosikilli. With a B-tech degree in Policing, Mosikili is currently in pursuit of an LLB degree.

Source: South African Police Service