Traffic officer, Boy Makutu has had an eventful year and was recognised for his viral fearlessness when he was named Safety and Security Officer of the Year at the annual awards this past week. Makutu was one of many award recipients as the Directorate tipped its hat to staff, but also its Law Enforcement volunteers.
The Safety and Security Directorate celebrated staff at its annual awards ceremony with categories including outstanding service, supervisor of the year, department officer of the year and Directorate officer of the year – which went to Traffic Officer, Boy Makutu.
Makutu made 29 arrests between November 2024 and September this year and went viral during two of those instances.
In September, he kept his cool when faced with a belligerent drunk driver on the N1 outbound near Durban Road, and in July, he was captured on video, literally hanging on to a taxi, in his bid to arrest the driver for drunk driving and failing to comply with a lawful instruction.
‘Officer Makutu embodies the very essence of Safety and Security. He serves with dedication and humility, and while he is very soft-spoken, his service record shows that he is a force to be reckoned with. I commend him and every other member and volunteer acknowledged at our awards events in the past week.
‘And, while we pause to tip our hats to those nominated, I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to the thousands of others in our Directorate who show up for their communities day after day, often at great personal cost and sacrifice,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Other departmental Officer of the Year recipients included:
- Ashwin Maxim – Disaster Risk Management Centre
- Kim Van Zyl – Fire and Rescue Services
- Rene Mostert – Public Emergency Communication Centre
- Cassidy Bock – Metro Police
- Deon Philander – Law Enforcement
Metro Police walked off with the Department of the Year honours.
On Saturday, 20 December, the Law Enforcement Auxiliary Awards recognised excellence in a number of categories including outstanding service, performance excellence, long service and the officer with the highest number of hours served.
This award went to Grant Adams, who clocked a whopping 765 hours this year.
Gerhard Engelbrecht walked away with the Volunteer Officer of the Year honour for his contribution to the Rural Auxiliary Unit, but also his consistent dedication and commitment to the uniform, having completed 4 310 hours of service over a 70-month period, averaging 61 hours per month.
