The acting Uitenhage Cluster Commander, Brigadier Ronald Koll is proud to announce that on Wednesday evening, 5 September 2018, during the National Crime Detection Conference 2017/2018 hosted in Pretoria, Constable Renier Japhta was awarded for the Best Performing Employee – Specific Crime Investigation for the Eastern Cape. Constable Japhta is attached to the Vehicle Crime Identification Unit in Uitenhage and has more than 17-years work experience as a police official. Constable Renier Japhta joined the organization in 2001 as a reservist and served the community of Uitenhage for 11 years and became a permanent member during January 2012. After completing his basic training, he joined the Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit in Uitenhage during 2014, where his dedication and commitment for his vocation grew stronger and it is clearly visible in the successes that he obtained.
Constable Japhta secured several convictions during the 2017/2018 period and he has vast knowledge about investigation skills, especially when it comes to identifying tampered and or stolen motor vehicles, which is one of the major crime concerns in the Eastern Cape. During the 2017/2018 period, he ensured that two accused were effectively sentenced to five years imprisonment each and also positively linked to other theft of motor vehicle cases in the Port Elizabeth area. Another accused was also sentenced effectively to three years imprisonment for vehicle theft. When operations are conducted in the Uitenhage Cluster, Const Japhta is the one who leads by example by identifying the tampered vehicles on the spot, and due to his determination he excels in his field of expertise.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Liziwe Ntshinga congratulated the member and said: “We are very proud of our member and appreciate the excellent work that Const Japhta has done and he deserves this accolade”. “May he inspire the whole of the Eastern Cape SAPS and continue to contribute value to the organization”.