As the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign commences, the South African Police Service (SAPS) deemed it fit to pay gratitude to detectives in the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigations (FCS) as well as the detectives within the Serial and Electronic FCS Crime Investigations (SECI) whose efforts often go unnoticed for contributing to a much better and safer South Africa.
SAPS introduced the nation to thirty-six-year-old Sergeant Ishmael Matjeka.
Born and bred in Moletji in Limpopo, this specialized detective has 11 years’ service having joined the organization in 2010.
Sergeant Matjeka started working as a detective at the Erasmia Police Station in Pretoria where he was tasked with investigating all 17-community reported crimes.
Six years later, Matjeka joined the Family Violence, Child Protection, Sexual Offences Investigations (FCS) Unit in 2016 in Limpopo. Matjeka says he grew up in a community where women and children were the victims of abuse, he says he saw this an opportunity to make a difference in his community in Limpopo.
With less than five years of him joining this specialized unit, Sergeant Matjeka has managed to secure 19 life imprisonment sentences for several serial rapists who were tormenting women, children and vulnerable groups in the Limpopo province.
One of those serial rapists is 27-year-old Tshepiso Prince Mabalena who was recently convicted by the Polokwane High Court in July 2021 to 16 life imprisonment sentences and an additional 15 years for 36 counts of rape.
The relentless and meticulous investigation by Sergeant Matjeka led to the serial rapist reign of terror coming to an end.
During investigations Matjeka uncovered that Mabalena’s raping spree began when he was only 13-years-old. He targeted women from the age of sixteen to sixty-five. Matjeka who is currently working on 39 cases related to gender-based violence says one needs to be patient and possess great listening skills to be able to crack complex cases.
This detective has vowed to place more perpetrators of GBV behind bars.
“I would like to urge men and women to not only speak out but act against GBV in time before lives are lost. Parents must also pay attention to the behaviour of their young children. They should monitor their children’s behaviour to check if there is a change so that they are immediately able to pick up on strange behaviour. Lastly, victims who haven’t received closure should not give up, some cases are complex to solve and require time”, said Sergeant Ishmael Matjeka.
The FCS unit boasts 176 units nationwide and nine Serial and Electronic Crime FCS Investigation Units based at Provincial Offices across the country.
