General Fannie Masemola, the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), is one of over 600 police officers participating in the Pretoria Marathon on Sunday, February 23, 2025.
A total of 626 personnel from police stations and SAPS service locations throughout nine provinces will compete in the 42.2km, 21.1km, 10km, and 5km events.
"KwaZulu-Natal has fielded the most runners with 128 police officers followed by Limpopo with 109, National Head Office with 114 runners followed by Gauteng with 92 runners, and Mpumalanga with 72.
"The SAPS continuously promotes the overall well-being of its employees by ensuring that members are allowed to take part in marathons and other sporting codes as a way of keeping fit and mentally well," said police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
Masemola is among other SAPS senior management, including the Deputy National Commissioner (DNC) of Policing, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, the DNC of Crime Detection, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, and the Acting DNC of Support Services, Lieutenant General Lineo Nkhuoa.
The Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng, Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni, and other SAPS Divisional Commissioners will also take the lead. The SAPS athletes gather at 5 am at the starting line in Lynwood Pretoria.
"We wish all our employees well for the race ahead. Keeping fit is an inherent requirement for all police officers and that is why we encourage fitness in the organization," Masemola said. "Every week members are allocated time to exercise to ensure our police officers are always ready to pursue criminals. We would like to thank Polmed as our main sponsor and supporter of our athletes."
IOL