PRETORIA – Meet Sergeant Moiponi Boya. The forty-one-year-old member has 18 years’ service having joined the organisation in 2003.
Originally from Ga-Maja near Lebowakgomo in Limpopo, the member has been attached to the Gauteng flying squad for 17 years. As such, the member is one of 65 female flying squad members in Gauteng.
Flying squad units work hard to increase police visibility on major routes, highways and hotspot areas where police visibility is needed. These members respond quickly to serious and violent crimes by constantly monitoring the police radio.
As a Flying Squad member, Sergeant Boya and her team provide a quick response to priority, serious and violent crimes in progress in an attempt to apprehend suspects.
Daily, members of the flying squad provide visible policing by means of vehicle patrols along the country’s major routes. They also assist in crime prevention operations and at times serve as backup during policing of major events.
Daily, Sergeant Boya and her crew patrol one of the busiest cities in the country. During patrols, the crew receives a call on the police radio informing them of a crime in progress. The team immediately prepare to respond, switching on the siren and blue light, and off they rush to the crime scene.
During a recent routine stop and search operation along the N1, Sergeant Boyi and her team pounced on a truck driver who was found to be transporting explosives from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg. The man was apprehended and the case was handed over to the HAWKS.
In another recent success, the team arrested a bus driver who was found to be transporting abalone to Zambia.
“To survive in a male-dominated environment, you need to be confident and bold. Never see your male counterparts as competition. We are all here to complement each other’s skills and strengths to serve and protect the people of our beautiful country”.
Sergeant Boya’s team regularly initiates roadblocks to address and monitor crime in hotspots.
To Sergeant Boya and other female flying squad members across the country, thank you for your contribution in making South Africa a much safer place to live in.