THOHOYANDOU – The well-known talkative police officer in the Vhembe Area, Captain Ailwei Mushavhanamadi, has been promoted to Superintendent. The promotion became effective from Tuesday, February 1.

Mushavhanamadi joined the then Venda National Force (VNF) back in January 1984. As an active member of the police service, Mushavhanamadi gained promotion to the higher ranks within a short space of time. His promotion to the rank of a sergeant became effective in 1987. Three years later he was again promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer.

He held the same position for five solid years until his promotion to the rank of a captain in July 1995. The following year saw Mushavhanamadi being appointed the spokesperson for the Thohoyandou Police Station. In 1998 Mushavhanamadi was transferred to the Area Office at Sibasa where he was appointed the head of communications.

Mushavhanamadi revealed that, at that time, the relationship between the police and the public was not as good as it is today. He said that one of his challenges was to bring the police service closer to the people, a task that he managed to accomplish within a short space of time.

Although he would have held the rank of captain for 10 years in July this year, Mushavhanamadi said that he was not worried about his long overdue promotion, saying that he knew that the day would come for him to move a step up the ladder and that it was a matter of time.

He has an Honours Degree in Criminal Justice and will be completing his LLB degree next year if everything goes according to plan. He received numerous awards in recognition of his good work as a police liaison officer during the past years. Some of the awards include the Thulamela Mayoral Award, Far North Media Association Award and the prestigious award from the Calvary Christian Church.

Mushavhanamadi praised the media, in particular Mirror and Phalaphala FM, for making him what he is today. He further indicated that the promotion means new challenges to him and promised to work even harder than before.