Top police star tells of day she battled gang

Barbara Hollands EAST LONDON CORRESPONDENT hollandsb@avusa.co.za

WHEN a thug held a rifle centimetres from her face, she thought she was moments from death. But Inspector Kutala Taleni not only survived the violent ordeal, she also ensured her attackers were put behind bars.

Thanks to her bravery and quick thinking, a robbery was foiled and she became the first woman to win the annual Police Star award recently, beating eight nominees from the Eastern Cape.

Taleni, 39, who is stationed at Bholothwa police station near Queenstown, had no idea that a routine check on a Mercedes Benz parked alongside the R61 would turn into a full-scale shoot-out with a gang who were about to rob a pension pay point.

It was Taleni‘s idea to stop the police bakkie she and her male colleagues were travelling in last year and investigate the Merc.

“There were six people in the car and the driver did not have a licence, so something told me to search their boot. When I saw a blue police lamp I knew something was wrong,” said Taleni.

In the ensuing mayhem, two of her male colleagues were repeatedly bludgeoned by the gangsters and Inspector Taleni sprang into action to save them.

“I could see the men were going to kill the police officers so I jumped into the bakkie to drive over the suspects, but they started firing at me and my vehicle and then there was a man at my window pointing a rifle at me. He told me to hand over my firearm and cellphones and swore at me and told me to get out of the car.

“Then a bus stopped next to us and I walked slowly towards it, thinking he would shoot me and I would not see my three children again. Someone threw me a phone and I called for back-up.”

The escaping suspects drove straight into the back-up convoy and another shoot-out ensued, with one suspect killed. The others were charged with armed robbery and attempted murder.

Taleni says she derives immense satisfaction when criminals land up behind bars.

“These men were on their way to a pension point in Mount Fletcher where they were going to deprive old people of their money, so I am so happy we put them away because they were also wanted for other crimes.

“I really want to overpower crime because it goes up every day and painful things like child rape happen all the time. I am passionate about making people‘s lives safer.”

While she may relish her job now, joining the police force was not her original career choice.

“When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher, but instead I joined the SAPS. I got my LLB from the University of Transkei in 2004. I thought then about leaving the police, but I don‘t like office work!”

In her 14 years with the SAPS, the nerve-wracking roadside shoot-out is only the second time she found herself on the wrong side of a barrel. “Once I was accidentally shot by a policeman as we were getting ready to go to the shooting range. “I was lucky, the bullet just went through my trouser leg,” she laughs.

Taleni, who is married to police spokesman Gcinikhaya Taleni, said she was very grateful to be named the police star of the province. “I am so happy, but I also thank God because He is my shield when there is danger.”

News