Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar, the face of Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), on Monday hanged up his hat after 41 years of uninterrupted service.
Minnaar, who also served as the spokesperson for the metro department, started his career as a traffic officer on January 8 1981. He has worked in the duty office and had a short stint serving at the K9 unit of the former traffic department.
At his farewell on Monday, colleagues spoke fondly of his rise to fame and how sad it was to see him leave.
Numerous colleagues shared how Minnaar did more than inform the public and the media on major accidents, roadblocks, December road safety plans and road fatality statistics during Easter.
Michael Sun, member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for environment infrastructure service department, spoke about Minnaar’s enormous contribution and dedication to the department.
“When I was MMC for public safety, I used to get all these strange calls. A lady called me wanting Wayne Minnaar’s number. She was in Escourt in KwaZulu-Natal and she wanted Wayne to come and account,” said Sun.
“I told her that the ‘J’ in JMPD stood for Joburg, but she still wanted Minnaar to be the o
ne to resolve the issue. His [Minnaar] name is a brand, I can write a book. I want to say thank you for the 41 years of your golden years to South Africa.”
Sun added that Minnaar often went beyond the call of duty when news had to be broken to the families of officers killed in the line of duty.
MMC for public safety David Tembe said Minnaar was never a spin-doctor, but a person of ethics and truth. “Only men and women of honour can run such a marathon of 41 years,” said Tembe.
At the end of 1994 he was requested to head the School Driver Education Program to prepare matriculants for their driving tests. He worked there up until 1996 when the sponsors withdrew from the program.#WayneMinnaar #WayneMinnaarFareWell #JoburgsFinest pic.twitter.com/oMkN5CJmpw
— Jo’burg Metro Police Department – JMPD (@JoburgMPD) February 28, 2022
In 1983 he had the opportunity to work at the Freeway Patrol Unit, where he worked for eight years.
He also had a short stint in the Duty Office, & a short stint at the K9 Unit of the former Traffic Department#WayneMinnaar#WayneMinnaarFareWell #JoburgsFinest pic.twitter.com/O9vFyk3wzH
— Jo’burg Metro Police Department – JMPD (@JoburgMPD) February 28, 2022
