As the country commemorates women’s month, the South African Police Service joins the nation in paying tribute to women within its ranks.
One of their esteemed members is the Provincial Commissioner of the Free State, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane who has 35 years service and is currently serving her second term as a provincial commissioner. She has held this position since 2016.
As a seasoned commander, she has served the SAPS in both the operational and support environments as a branch commander, station commander and Deputy Provincial: Commissioner Policing.
Lt Gen Motswenyane was appointed Provincial Commissioner of North West in 2016 and in 2019 began a second term as a Provincial Commissioner for the Free State.
In addition to 24 provincial components and five districts, she is in charge of supervising and managing policing operations at 111 police stations across the Free State.
She was the first woman in the country to become an area commissioner for the SAPS, and thereafter a deputy provincial commissioner: Policing, and later deputy provincial commissioner: Operations.”
Lt Gen Motswenyane has earned a National Diploma in Policing, a Bachelor of Technology in Policing, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Genetics.
Under her leadership, the following successes were achieved:
During the 2023/2024 financial year, 52 suspects were arrested for kidnapping and extortion related crimes.
In April 2024, members of the Welkom K9 unit, in collaboration with the counter-narcotics unit, received information about a house being used to sell drugs. They discovered Crystal Meth and Mandrax valued at R300,000 and arrested a 32-year-old suspect.
In Rouxville 400 boxes of illicit cigarettes worth an estimated street value of R12 million were recovered in July 2024. A 42-year-old foreign national was arrested.
In the period between October 2023 to March 2024, 220 perpetrators were sentenced to 1 313 years of imprisonment in the Free State. This included 25 life sentences and the sentence of Mario Gutsi, who was convicted of 1 010 charges that include rape, sexual assault, manufacturing, possession and distribution of child pornography. Gutsi is serving a sentence of 6 548 years.
In May 2024 a cash-in-transit heist occurred just outside a Mall in Mangaung involving a group of armed suspects. During the incident a security vehicle was intercepted by the suspects travelling in a BMW. The SAPS through its multi-disciplinary approach deployed more boots on the ground to support the detectives in tracing the suspects. They worked around the clock and as a result of their hard work, seven suspects were detected in different places around Mangaung and were apprehended. The SAPS recovered the money that was looted, two firearms – an AK 47 rifle and a pistol, as well as thirty rounds of ammunition. The two cars were also recovered.
Lt Gen Motswenyane often personally leads the weekly Shanela operations.
Lt Gen Motswenyane’s dedication to addressing the unique challenges in policing, particularly as they pertain to women’s roles and safety within our communities, is both inspiring and essential.
The SAPS honour Women’s Month, her leadership exemplifies the progress the FS province is registering towards a more inclusive and equitable society.
Lt Gen Motswenyane’s commitment to fostering a supportive environment for female officers and ensuring justice and protection for all women underlines the critical role of law enforcement in achieving these goals.
