• Described as a special cop and crowd control specialist, Warrant Officer Maphosa preferred persuading protesters rather than using force.
• Colleagues say Maphosa taught them the importance of balancing protesters’ rights with the law. 
• SAMWU says TMPD’s failure to promote Maphosa despite his long service shows a lack of gratitude by management.  

Described as a “special cop” and a “rare talent” who managed protesting and aggrieved communities effortlessly, Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) Warrant Officer Daniel Maphosa has taken his final bow after 42 years of service to the City of Tshwane. 

The 66-year-old operational commander left behind a career marked by decades of community engagement, managing difficult and violent protests, and a deep commitment to policing within the confines of the law.

Maphosa was honoured during his exit parade in Tshwane on Monday, August 31, where he reflected on a policing career that began as a security officer at the then Pretoria City Council in 1984 — before he was selected to become a metro police officer when the department was established in 2002.

His colleagues, union leaders and friends described Maphosa as a loyal, dedicated and professional cop who led the TMPD’s public order policing (POP) unit with integrity and compassion, and left the department with a clean record more than four decades later. 

A founding commander of the POP when it was established in 2014, Maphosa was credited with fostering a good relationship between the TMPD and communities, resulting in aggrieved people being allowed to exercise their right to protest without breaking the law or damaging property.  

Senior Magistrate Joe Shikwambane and former SABC senior reporter Neo Makwiting were among the dignitaries who came to witness Maphosa being saluted for the last time by the TMPD band and senior commanders, led by Sipho Sebastian Nkomo, the TMPD Deputy Chief responsible for the specialised units and Nomsa Nhlapo, the Deputy Chief for road policing.

Maphosa’s farewell speech was both a reflection on the challenges he faced and a message to younger officers about the importance of serving communities with integrity.

The veteran cop urged metro police officers to further their education not simply as a route to promotion, but as a means of gaining knowledge that could ultimately be returned to the communities they serve.

“Please, when you enrol at the university, don’t enrol with the purpose that you want to get a promotion. Enrol and educate yourself so that you impart the knowledge within the community,” he said.

Reflecting on his years in the POP unit, Maphosa said it was among the most difficult areas of policing he had experienced.

He recalled periods of intense unrest and mass protests, like the Eersterust and Soshanguve protests, saying officers were frequently required to deal with large crowds, including the elderly in crutches under extremely difficult circumstances.

Despite the pressure, he said, his approach was always to engage communities and avoid unnecessary use of force. 

“[During] the protest in Soshanguve Block KK where we were suddenly surrounded by about 2000 people, I told my subordinates that this situation is a do-or-die. I put a short gun and long gun inside the Nyala (police vehicle). I went deep into the crowd, and a miracle happened. We agreed to handle the matter in a good manner.”

“I asked the crowd what they wanted us to help with? They said they wanted to meet the mayor. I then phoned the office of the mayor, and the mayor sent the representative. The representative engaged the crowd, took their memorandum and asked them to disperse,” Maphosa recalled. 

“When there is a protest in town, you must remember that you are dealing with the masses,” he added, warning officers about the dangers of indiscriminate action during protests.

He said he regularly instructed his subordinates not to rush into using force because innocent people could become victims of actions intended to deal with protesters.

“Please, don’t shoot,” he recalled telling officers. “Because when you plan for the march, there are people who are planning [to cause trouble]. Then you end up shooting an elderly person. That is going to be a nasty story.”

Maphosa also reflected on some of the most turbulent periods of his career, including the Marikana tragedy and the Shibani Party-related unrest, describing the latter especially as a difficult period for officers who had to confront large crowds.

He said officers managed those situations through engagement rather than simply resorting to force.

“We never even fired a single propaganda shot. Never. We convinced those people,” he said.

For Maphosa, policing was never only about wearing a uniform or enforcing regulations. It was about building relationships with ordinary people.

“To all those who wear the uniform, just be proud of your uniform,” he told fellow officers during his exit parade.

“Myself included, because whenever I’m wearing the uniform, walking in the CBD, from the gogos who sell bananas, they will greet me, and I’ll say, I’m proud of my uniform.”

His words captured the emotional weight of his departure after more than four decades of service.

Warrant Officer Frans Molomo, a POP shift leader who worked with Maphosa since 2014, described him as a humble but effective crowd management specialist. 

“He was very professional. Our core function is to engage with protesters, and he was very good at that. We knew that with Mr Maphosa on board, we would engage, engage, and engage until we find a common purpose with people who are protesting. When it comes to law enforcement involving people who are protesting and sometimes burning tyres, he was very good. He was a good leader,” Molomo said. 

He said Maphosa was also the go-to person for TMPD officers with personal and work-related problems. 

“We have learnt a lot from him. He is caring and the best in crowd control. Warrant Officer Maphosa was like a father figure to all of us. He is a person who could advise at length; even if you have got family issues, he could detect that the person that i work with is not in the best state of mind. He would come to you and ask you questions to a point where you would be able to say, ‘But this is a father figure that I could talk to’” Molomo said. 

“He went to the length where when these junior constables had issues, he would go as far as speaking to their parents. He is good at that,” Molomo reiterated. 

Former SABC journalist Makwiting met Maphosa in the mid-1980s while covering stories in Tshwane. He described him as a “special cop” with “rare talent”.  

“Mirira was not just an ordinary cop. He was a special cop with a rare talent that you can find today in law enforcement services, be it SAPS, the Metro Police, or the Traffic Department. He is the kind of person who is willing to go the extra mile to get things done right. Besides being a good cop, he is a gentleman. You can’t compare Mirira to any cop that you know. He is extra special,” said Makwiting. 

He said Maphosa was the opposite of cops such as suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi and others who appeared before the Madlanga Commission on allegations of fraud, corruption and irregularities. 

“I shed a tear at the parade that Tshwane Metro Police is losing a person who is supposed to be advising them on many other things because their image has been tainted beyond repair. Now that Mirira is gone, I don’t know whether they will ever be able to clean up the image of the police force serving the residents of Tshwane. I don’t know whether we will still have confidence in the law enforcement without Miriria Maphosa,” Makwiting maintained. 

He added that TMPD should rope in Maphosa to help teach trainee officers “because he can still offer them something” but “not in their offices”. 

Warrant Officer Valentine Mabutla, the South African Municipal Workers Union’s (SAMWU) chairperson for community services, took issue with TMPD’s failure to promote Maphosa and other veterans despite their decades of service. He said the fact that officers had to contribute towards gifts for Maphosa showed a lack of gratitude and honour among TMPD management. 

“A man of his calibre, who has a clean record, no any other misconduct, for 42 years, derseves better i think. People leave the department in tatters, where they appeared in most of the disciplinary hearings, bringing the name of the department into disrepute. A loyal police officer who diligently delivered services to our people with dignity and respect.”

“You will know that crowd control is an engaging unit. First and foremost, as a platoon commander, you need to be able to develop a skill to speak to members of the community for them not to damage property or injure anyone. So, Mr Maphosa was that kind of a person who had a skill,” Mabutla said. 

He said TMPD did not treat Maphosa fairly nor appreciate him enough for his sacrifices. 

“Members had to contribute to get Mr Maphosa a portrait. The only thing the department did was hold an exit parade yesterday. And we are saying as a labour movement that the department can improve. People all over the city know Inspector Maphosa and his character. So, it can’t be enough that they are taking pictures with him and saying they are bidding him farewell.”

“To us as union members, this is not fair. If they had given him money while he is still awaiting his pensions, it would have been a token of appreciation because they failed to promote him when he was still here,” Mabutla insisted. 

Added the SAMWU leader: “A person who was a platoon commander deserves a better position, whether in the form of a commander or a senior. He contributed or led as a warrant officer, but some of us union leaders, towards his exit, said ‘Mr Maphosa, because we appreciate you, just remain in the office and give us guidance, don’t go out and perform certain duties,’”

“As a labour movement, I know we said to management, ‘Those who started metro police, when you advertise the posts, can’t you just thank them with those posts?’ But the employer said it’s their prerogative to advertise. Labour must not tell the employer what to do. We have those minutes; I think it was in February 2024.” 

Mayor Moya pays tribute

Tshwane Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya also paid tribute to Maphosa, recognising his 42 years of service to the City of Tshwane.

In a message accompanying photographs from the occasion, Moya said Maphosa’s career had started as a security officer before he was selected to become a metro police officer when the department was established in 2002.

“His career began as a security officer,” Moya said.

“He was selected to serve as a metro police officer when the department was created in 2002.”

Moya thanked Maphosa for his longstanding contribution to the city and its residents.

“We thank him for his service to the people of Tshwane,” she said.