The new Gonubie police station commander has been hailed a traffic hero by the suburb’s motorists after he braved cold wet weather last week to direct peak hour morning traffic.
Barely 100 days in office, Lieutenant-Colonel Tolisile Mdyogolo has been showered with praise by residents who posted pictures and commented on his actions on the Gonubie Main Road Facebook page.
Mdyogolo directed traffic on Friday morning when the traffic lights at the busy Gonubie Main Road/ Gullsway intersection were out, averting a potential traffic disaster as motorists headed to work.
To show their appreciation residents yesterday morning delivered a cake and an A4-sized thank you card bearing all the messages of appreciation posted by close to 100 people on Facebook.
The 51-year-old, who hails from a village near King William’s Town, was taken aback by the praise and said he was just doing his job.
Mdyogolo said while at the station last week Friday he had noticed morning traffic backing up.
“The rain was pouring down and I advised one of the officers to call the traffic department and request a traffic officer be sent out to ease the jam, however the officer was unable to reach the department.
“Having been trained in traffic control I decided to go out and help. I put on my reflector jacket and directed the traffic.”
This was the second time he directed morning traffic on the Gonubie Main Road – in April he assisted while loadshedding was on the go.
“What I had in mind when I went out there was instead of having to deal with the admin of an accident report let me rather prevent the accident from happening.
“And on both those days no accidents were reported,” he said.
The 29-year veteran of the police force took up the role in Gonubie on March 24 after serving as station commander for 10 years at the Macleantown police station.
He strongly believes police visibility in the community builds trust from both sides.
“I have met businesses, ratepayers, farmers and on Monday evening I met residents from Mzamomhle to hear what their challenges were and how we can tackle them together,” he said.
Belinda Rogerson, who baked the cake for Mdyogolo, said it was out of appreciation “for someone who went beyond the call of duty”.
Mdyogolo shared the cake with his colleagues before dashing off to Chintsa on a door-to-door visit to raise awareness for child protection. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
Gonubie’s top cop leads from front
Barely 100 days in office, Lieutenant-Colonel Tolisile Mdyogolo has been showered with praise by residents who posted pictures and commented on his actions on the Gonubie Main Road Facebook page.
Mdyogolo directed traffic on Friday morning when the traffic lights at the busy Gonubie Main Road/ Gullsway intersection were out, averting a potential traffic disaster as motorists headed to work.
To show their appreciation residents yesterday morning delivered a cake and an A4-sized thank you card bearing all the messages of appreciation posted by close to 100 people on Facebook.
The 51-year-old, who hails from a village near King William’s Town, was taken aback by the praise and said he was just doing his job.
Mdyogolo said while at the station last week Friday he had noticed morning traffic backing up.
“The rain was pouring down and I advised one of the officers to call the traffic department and request a traffic officer be sent out to ease the jam, however the officer was unable to reach the department.
“Having been trained in traffic control I decided to go out and help. I put on my reflector jacket and directed the traffic.”
This was the second time he directed morning traffic on the Gonubie Main Road – in April he assisted while loadshedding was on the go.
“What I had in mind when I went out there was instead of having to deal with the admin of an accident report let me rather prevent the accident from happening.
“And on both those days no accidents were reported,” he said.
The 29-year veteran of the police force took up the role in Gonubie on March 24 after serving as station commander for 10 years at the Macleantown police station.
He strongly believes police visibility in the community builds trust from both sides.
“I have met businesses, ratepayers, farmers and on Monday evening I met residents from Mzamomhle to hear what their challenges were and how we can tackle them together,” he said.
Belinda Rogerson, who baked the cake for Mdyogolo, said it was out of appreciation “for someone who went beyond the call of duty”.
Mdyogolo shared the cake with his colleagues before dashing off to Chintsa on a door-to-door visit to raise awareness for child protection. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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