The service highlighted Warrant Officer Charlene Van der Berg, the only female police diver attached to the Water Police and Diving Services Unit in Sedibeng, Gauteng province.

Forty-two-year-old van der Berg hails from Springs and joined the Service in 2002 as a student constable. She underwent a stint in the SAPS Bike Squad before joining the Water Wing after completing a Commercial Divers Level IV Course in 2014.

As a police diver, van der Berg’s duties include attending to various water related incidents including search and rescue operations. Van der Berg said the majority of her work as a police diver takes place in water with zero visibility. She added that she uses her sense of touch, often in depths shallower than 10 metres.

“I am required to enter water conditions that are extreme or challenging. If there is a potential to save a life I never hesitate to jump in”, said van der Berg.

To date, van der Berg accumulated about 120 dives which calculates roughly to 64.5 hours. This includes diving operations to recover bodies, firearms and exhibits along with search and rescue missions and training exercises.

In 2016, van der Berg played an instrumental role as part of the team that was deployed for a search and rescue operation during the flash floods in Johannesburg. During this incident, several vehicles were swept away by strong currents, and people lost their lives. The team managed to rescue several people and retrieved vehicles.

In 2018 van der Berg and her colleagues were also deployed to assist during the flash floods in the Free State province. They rescued children from a bus which was stuck in a low-lying bridge on a flooded road and put their lives at risk in a fast-flowing water to save the lives of a father and his daughter by means of rope work. The team also rescued three men stranded on top of a vehicle while drifting off in the fast-flowing water.

Van der Berg was also part of the team of six members who were awarded with monetary awards and commendation certificates for the sterling work done and putting their lives at risk to rescue and save lives during the flash floods, the SAPS said.

“If I had to think of all the dangers that I sometimes experienced, I will not be doing what I am doing if it is not my calling. I am committed and dedicated to my work, I care for people and their families. I would also not hesitate to dive to save a life in danger”, van der Berg said.

Throughout her career, van der Berg said even if her job is about risking her life, facing danger of the unknown when diving in the dark water, she will continue doing it.

“After my first dive I knew I had not only found my calling; I had also discovered a world full of unlimited possibilities. I am very proud to be a member of the SAPS Water and Diving Services and to perform diving duties. But the most rewarding part of my job as a police diver is bringing closures to families by reuniting them with their loved ones”, she said.

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Lieutenant Colonel Kgothatso Khunou is the first African female chief helicopter pilot attached to the SAPS Airwing in the Free State and one of 17 female pilots nationwide.

Living up to her first name as Kgothatso, which means ‘courage’, loosely translated from Setswana, she hails from the “dusty streets of Rustenburg”, as she fondly describes her humble upbringing as a “village girl”. Khunou says a career in aviation found her and not the other way around. As a teenager, Khunou dreamt of following a career in science.

In 2010, the Royal Bafokeng Administration offered Khunou a scholarship to obtain a commercial pilot license, just shortly after she obtained a National Diploma in Biotechnology. Despite a fear of flying, Khunou jumped at the opportunity. This ultimately led her to join the SAPS in 2014 as a junior pilot at the rank of warrant officer.

As a helicopter pilot, Khunou’s duties include operational flights, providing aerial support as requested from ground units, along with stock theft and stolen vehicle searches and assisting with search and rescue operations.

Khunou is currently deployed to Operation Vala Umgodi, which continues to register what the SAPS said is commendable progress in dealing decisively with illicit mining activities across the country.

She played a pivotal role in a recent women-led operation on 1 August 2024, when her team arrested 178 illicit miners, recovered over 400 pendukas and various other illicit mining equipment during the operation in Benoni.

“When you set goals, always tell yourself that the sky is not even the limit. I was once afraid of flying, but now I serve my country fearlessly as a SAPS helicopter pilot,” said Khunou.

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