Excellent service by the Police detective (Sergeant Sawule)

Hi

On 02 August 2022 I lost my phone. It was ****** from me from an internet cafe in Queenstown South Africa. I requested to see the footage from the internet cafe and they showed me. Indeed I saw a man taking it. I went back to the computer the man was sitting on and I logged in to find out if there were no documents he printed that will give me an idea of who he is.

I found that he was editing an invoice and I printed that invoice because it had his email address, names and cell phone number. I went to the Queenstown police station to open a case. When I got there, the lady that was assisting me advised me to go to my service provider and request an ICT number. That way it will be easy to track the phone.

I received the ICT number and I went back to police station the following day 03 August 2022 and I opened the case. On 04/08/2022 I heard that there were police detectives that came to my house and requested me to visit them at the police station the next day because they tried to reach me but failed. I had no phone that they reached me on. The following day 05/08/2022 I went to the police station and requested to see sergeant Sawule, that is who they said I should ask for when I got there.

I waited a few minutes and he arrived. He advised me that he is the detective that will handle my case and he briefed me on what he has already done. Sergeant Sawule also informed me that he had a short day that day because he has taken leave. He will be back in the office on Wednesday 10 August 2022. I was so impressed with how professional this police officer is and the amount of work he has already done, having received the docket the next day which is the 04th August 2022. Oh he also informed me that the cell phone number that I found on the invoice was on voicemail and I knew that because I tried calling it several times myself thinking that the person would answer and I would reason with him to return my phone. However, Sergeant Sawule advised me that there are other ways to find him and he will try every means to find him and try to recover the phone and arrest him.

When he returned to work on the 10th August 2022 I did not hear from him and the rest of that week. On Monday the 15th August 2022 he sent an SMS to my partner's cell phone number that I had provided to him. I did not receive that SMS because my partner was out of town. On Tuesday the 16th August 2022 Sergeant Sawule Visited my home and he informed me that he has recovered my phone and it is in police custody but he has not arrested the suspect because he is in hospital. He suffered injuries at work and was admitted in hospital.

The following day I went to police station to get my phone and indeed it was my phone.

While I was at the police station on the 05th August I overheard other detectives talking and explaining to someone that they are +/- 15 in that department (detectives) but they only have 3 vehicles. Each person has more that 100 dockets and that they sometimes attend cases that are around town on foot.

I was so surprised when he actually informed me that he had recovered my phone within few days and with limited resources.

Someone might say my case was easy but to me it was a great deal because my life is on my phone. I have everything in it and not having it was a nightmare. I was not certain that I will get it back and I had no faith in our police officers BUT sergeant Sawule changed my perspective a lot. Now I know that there are police officer who treat their job as a calling and not just work.

I am so grateful to sergeant Sawule and the whole SAPS as a whole. Please keep doing the best you can with all the challenges you face and limited resources at your disposal. My faith and belief in you has been restored and it is because of just one person who treated me with respect, who was professional enough and who expedited my mater

Thank you!!!