29/07/2025
[MEET OUR MEMBER] Sometimes extraordinary achievements come from the most ordinary beginnings. Colonel Sekitikele Freddy Modungwana's story proves this beyond doubt, a young man who started working as security guard at the gates in 1991 at just 22-years-old and went on to revolutionize tactical policing across South Africa.
In 1991, a young Reserve Constable began his shift at the gates of Apel Police Station. Today, that same man commands Polokwane's elite Public Order Police and serve as Provincial Commander of the Tactical Response Team. This is not just career progression – this is transformation at its best.
While most South Africans watched the country's democratic transition on television, Colonel Modungwana lived it on the front lines. Deployed to KwaZulu-Natal's most violent flashpoints – Umlazi, Ndwendwe, Port Shepstone, Richmond – he stood between warring factions when bullets were flying and democracy hung in the balance.
"These experiences tested my skills and my strength as a police officer, and I'm proud to have played a role in maintaining law and order during a critical period in South Africa's history," he recalls.
In 1999, Colonel Modungwana was amongst the first group of members that formed the elite Tactical Intervention Group (TIG), (The Unit was formed by the Limpopo POP members and the North West Potchefstroom POP Members). TIG’s mission; to respond to medium to high risk duties in their provinces. The team was later deployed to Stop PAGAD's reign of terror in the Western Cape. The mission was accomplished in just three months, with the Hard Livings gang leader Rasshid Staggi put behind bars, the dismantling of the Americans gangs at Mitchelsplain, Bishop Lavis, Mannenburg and Athlone (Cape Flats) and the arrest of the notorious PAGAD members who terrorised the Western Cape communities with pipe bombs.
Colonel Modungwana didn't just excel operationally – he became a master trainer. Working with the French Gendarmerie to prepare for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he helped redevelop Public Order Police training. His work was so exceptional that during the World Cup, Coca-Cola invited him as their guest to observe elimination matches in Port Elizabeth.
Each promotion represented not just personal achievement, but growing responsibility for keeping South Africans safe.
Today, as Unit Commander of Polokwane Public Order Police and Provincial Commander of TRT, Colonel Modungwana continues setting the standard. Every successful tactical operation, every criminal brought to justice, every officer he has trained carries forward the excellence he has demonstrated for over three decades.
https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=62683
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