DURBAN: THIRTY-ONE years ago Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo joined the South African Police Services (SAPS).
While policing is a demanding job that is often thankless, Naidoo endeavoured to excel at it. Now he is one of the most highly regarded policemen on the force.
Naidoo, 50, grew up in Mariannhill, near Pinetown. He is the youngest of four children born to China Ramsami (now deceased) and Narainamma Naidoo, 91.
His humble beginnings shaped his character and, with all his achievements and successes, Naidoo remains humble and approachable.
His younger years were spent at Mariannhill Primary School, where he completed Grade 7, then went on to Pinetown Secondary to do 8 and 9.
He completed Grade 10 at Overport Secondary School and 11 and 12 at Nilgiri Secondary School, Mariannhill. He obtained his national diploma in police administration in 1995 through Technikon SA.
He started studying a communication science degree but had to give it up because of financial constraints, choosing to “invest in my children’s education rather than my own”.
Naidoo, who now lives in Centurion, Pretoria, said his passion for policing started when he was young.
“I fell in love with the uniform, but began to appreciate the importance of the job,” he said. “It was demanding and thankless, but I stuck to it.
“I believe that service to man is service to God and I try to help whoever I can, whenever I can. I began to embrace being a police officer as a vocation rather than just a job.
“The most important thing for me was to focus on the job at hand and carry it out diligently. I was not driven by promotions or reward. I can hardly believe I am a brigadier now.”
Naidoo was sworn in as a student police officer on June 25, 1986. He served a year at the Pinetown police station, then went to the Wentworth Police Training Academy in July 1997 for six months’ basic training.
In January 1998, he returned to the Pinetown district headquarters where he worked until 1990, when he was promoted to sergeant.
“I took a transfer to an operational environment as a section commander at the Pinetown West and Mariannhill police stations until 1992.
“I returned to Pinetown police station to work in the community relations environment.
“In 1995 I was asked to work in the communication and liaison services at the provincial office. There I rose up the ranks to superintendent. In 2005, I was promoted to senior superintendent (the equivalent of colonel) in the office of then national commissioner Jackie Selebi. In June 2015, I was promoted to brigadier.”
With all his experience, Naidoo said he still did not relish going to crime scenes - there were some scenes he would never forget.
Some incidents he would not revisit as they might reopen old wounds for the families affected.
His work took him to dangerous and volatile areas such as Richmond at the height of its violence. He worked 12-hour night shifts for three months without a day off.
Cases that stood out for him included the Shezi family massacre in Richmond and the Shobashobane massacre on the South Coast in the 1990s.
“The policing approach has become more integrated than when I started,” said Naidoo. “Today we involve communities, business and all government departments in the effort to make the country safer.
“We have different disciplines now. For example, we have members working in the community service centre of a station which handles routine patrols and attends to complaints.
“We also have dedicated crime prevention units that conduct specific operations informed by crime threats and a crime-pattern analysis.
“At the cluster level, we have the tactical response teams (TRT) who attend to medium- to high-risk situations. The approach is more focused and strategic than it used to be.”
Naidoo said there had always been corruption among the police. It simply seemed more prevalent now because the culprits were being identified, exposed and dealt with decisively.
“By far, the majority of our police officers are hard-working and committed. It is only the few who bring the SAPS into disrepute,” said Naidoo.
He and his wife, Thresa Christina, have two children, Yesigan and Sianca.
Naidoo said Yesigan was married and he and his wife, Sitha, have two children, Ezra Jeremiah, 2, and Seth Israel, eight months.
The doting grandfather gushed about his gorgeous grandsons who were “the centre of his life”.
“Being a grandfather is the most amazing feeling. I thank both my son and daughter-in-law all the time for bringing Ezra and Seth into our lives.
“Ezra has started talking and speaks in full sentences. The things he says are almost always amusing and amazing.
“He calls me ‘Vishie’ and I love it. He calls my daughter-in-law ‘Mommy’ and if Sitha is around he calls Thresa ‘Vishie Mommy’ to avoid confusion. “Ezra stays with us most weekends and he loves it - he even throws tantrums so he can come over.”
When he’s not working or spending time with his grandchildren, Naidoo, an avid angler, is fishing on the coast between St Lucia on the KZN North Coast and Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape. Gym, squash and golf are his other pursuits.
He said although his parents lived a modest life, they had stressed the importance of a good education. He and his siblings had done well in their careers and he had ensured the same for his children, who are both accountants.
“I pass on the advice my parents gave me to my children and grandchildren. I tell them to respect everyone, especially their parents and teachers.
“This is something lacking in the younger generation. With respect, children develop the ability to learn and grow academically and in their careers,” said Naidoo.
He said people had many impressions of him, but he hoped those he met saw him as a humble, approachable family man who had always been and would remain hard-working.