With a strong passion to protect the vulnerable and bring peace to the community, Lieutenant Colonel Samson Muzi Maphumulo is working his way up the ranks and was recently promoted from communications officer at SAPS Durban Central to station commander of the Lamontville Police Station. Lt Col
Formerly from the Mpophomeni township in Howick, Lt Col Maphumulo completed his primary and high school education despite all the disturbances of political non-tolerance at that time.
Speaking to the Springfield Weekly Gazette, Lt Col Maphumulo said that from a tender age, he always knew that he wanted to get into something related to law.
He said: “I have been called a lawyer by my parents, especially my mother. She had always said ‘wena unguMMeli’, which translates to ‘you are a lawyer’. When I began high school, I started looking closely into the policing field. I wanted to protect the vulnerable and began to project myself as a peace officer, which also refers to policemen. I began job hunting immediately after matric but I was also encouraged to work, even in my schooling days, and I used to work in gardens and at supermarkets. I believe that the South African Police Service is an important arm of government to ensure that the people and their properties are protected from criminality.”
He said that during high school, he encountered challenges but he pushed himself at school to achieve his goals.
“During high school, there was a lot of obstacles; one being that there was a lack and shortage of teachers for certain subjects. This led me to self study as I was a very ambitious and disciplined child, so when challenges came my way, I always tried to manoeuvre and find a way around them,” he said.
Speaking about the policing field, Lt Col Maphumulo said that police work requires people who abide to the law and have good ethics and discipline.
“The recruitment system has to be upgraded to ensure that we get recruits who will not end up working with the criminals. I also feel that we need policemen who are passionate about their country and have a respect for other people. As a station commander, I hope to eradicate any root or form of crime. I believe in partnership policing, where the community and various stakeholders work together for crime prevention purposes. The visible policing will be increased in the area while also conducting various operations to deal with criminality in Lamontville,” he said.
Lt Col Maphumulo encourages the community of Lamontville to join crime pre-safety structures, namely the CPF and the Community in Blue initiative (community patrollers).
“All community safety structures should work under the umbrella of the CPF, which is a legislated body. The criminals are residing within the community. Let communities work with the police to fight crime,” he said.
The community is encouraged to always report any form of crime by calling 10111 or reaching out to Lamontville Police Station on 031-452-6354.
