Johannesburg - Police officers are seldom celebrated for putting their lives on the line in the war against crime.
Top detective Lieutenant. Colonel Alet Pratt is one of the individuals worth celebrating after being credited with the arrest and conviction of one of the most wanted criminals in South Africa.
Pratt was instrumental in apprehending Eugene Thapelo Lebona, who at the time of his arrest, was considered a terrifying house robber.
Lebona has been sentenced to 93 years on various charges.
After four months of intensive investigation after the docket was handed to Pratt, Lebona was arrested in the house he rented in the Midstream Estate.
Pratt became a police officer in 1987 and a detective in 1995.
“I chose to be a detective because I wanted to solve problems and solve crime,” said Pratt.
Her journey in the police force began in Pretoria West as a detective and she moved to Pretoria North. Pratt then moved to Mamelodi before becoming a branch commander at Sinoville police station.
“I work like that in all my cases by assisting the state prosecution in everything they need and I have done this my entire career.”
After over 30 years of experience, she has had similar cases with varying results. She was very pleased with the conviction of Lebona.
The biggest reward about closing the case is finally putting Lebona behind bars.
In a crime spree which began in 2003, Lebona traversed various parts of the country including Welkom, Orkney, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Lebona was found guilty of 16 charges of theft of a motor vehicle, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of a stolen Toyota Fortuner, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunitions, theft of golf clubs and even the theft of a Harley Davidson during a house robbery.
Deputy Chairperson of Gauteng Provincial Community Policing Board, Vernon Smith said Pratt is an unsung heroine in the South African Police Service.
“All of us tend to criticise officials of the SAPS very easy when we believe they did wrong, but we never acknowledge and praise those who do excellent work,” said Smith.