Serving SAPS with distinction, pride

Brigadier Nagamuthu Govindasamy Govender

Brigadier Nagamuthu Govindasamy Govender

Published Jan 19, 2018

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Durban - After serving 38 years with the South African Police Service, Brigadier Nagamuthu Govindasamy Govender has put away the service badge he still treasures.

Govender, 60, of uMhlanga Ridge, who harboured aspirations of being a teacher, stumbled upon a career in the force, while working as a motor mechanic.

Formerly from the rural community of Glendale on Durban’s north coast, Govender grew up from humble beginnings on a sugar cane farm.

His father, Govindasamy, toiled on the land from dawn to dusk, while his mother, Chambiammal, took care of their home and five children.

“We lived in a wood and iron home without electricity, running water or proper sanitation. 

"We had an outdoor kitchen and I remember collecting water from a nearby river, so we could bath. My father’s earnings from working on the farm was just enough for us but when my siblings and I started working, we renovated our home.”

Govender, who is unmarried, attended Kranskloof State Aided Primary and ML Sultan High schools.

“In primary school I developed a passion for teaching and wanted to pursue it as a career but when I reached high school, I did a subject called motor mechanics and also found that interesting. But due to personal issues, I left high school at 14.”

He then worked at the farm with his dad and when he turned 18, he started a job as a boiler maker and thereafter a mechanic.

“I worked at a garage near the Glendale Police Station where the police officers would bring their vehicles for checks. 

"One of them, Brigadier Hariram Badul, who is now retired, encouraged me to apply for a job in the force. 

“I applied and was accepted at the Wentworth Training College, where I completed a six-month course and graduated top of my class in 1981.”

He was later employed as an instructor at the college - tasked with training new recruits.

In 1991, the college moved to Chatsworth and he was deployed to Lenasia SAPS, in Gauteng, as a visible policing officer.

For Govender, moving to another province was a huge step but he was up for the challenge.

Within a year, he was promoted to captain and deployed to Kliptown SAPS in Soweto District and from there moved to Eldorado Park SAPS as acting station commander in 1993.

“While working, I completed matric and management courses and was promoted to the provincial office in Gauteng in a management role as head of Krugersdorp area.”

As his career flourished, Govender was thrown a curve ball in 1994, on Diwali eve, when his parents were attacked and robbed on their farm.

“During the robbery, my mother was shot and although she survived the attack this incident really shook me. I wanted to be closer to home. I got a transfer to the provincial office in Durban as the head of service evaluation and was later promoted to the head of work study.”

In 2001, he became a brigadier and over the years received various medals for his commitment to the force.

Govender says he wants to continue serving citizens through community work.

He advised those matriculants, unable to afford or secure a place at a tertiary institution, to consider joining the force.

“It is a good career opportunity and because it is a public service, you must be patriotic to your country and have a passion for what you do followed by integrity.”

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