As the country commemorates Women's Month, the South African Police Service (SAPS) is profiling its women in blue. With a day to go before the country celebrates Women's Day, the spotlight has shone on Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Lillian Mene, the Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape, who was appointed to the position on 1 December 2021. She is responsible for 199 police stations and various specialised units within the province. She has a B-Tech Degree in Policing and is a seasoned cop with 40 years of service in the South African Police Service (SAPS), having joined the service in 1984. She started her career as a Constable at New Brighton SAPS and has since worked at various stations and units. She was appointed as Station Commander at the rank of Warrant Officer in 1998 and has been a Station Commander at seven police stations in the Eastern and Western Cape, including Humansdorp, St Francis Bay, Port Alfred, Grabouw, Stellenbosch and Khayelitsha. In 2016, Mene was promoted to the rank of Major General as a cluster commander of the Worcester Cluster in the Western Cape. She served as the Acting Deputy Provincial Commissioner responsible for Support Services in the Western Cape before her appointment as head of Eastern Cape province. Mene maintains that hard work and dedication will get one far in life. 'It is only through action will we be able to win back the trust and confidence in SAPS. We must continue to work hard to serve and protect our communities,' she said. Under her administration, significant progress has been made in empowering women and achieving gender equality in the Eastern Cape. Under the Gender Equity Act, the Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner appointed more than 40% women commanders, two of whom are her deputies. The following successes have been achieved: The province managed to arrest more than 20 suspects in cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies and recently foiled one. Just last week, five CIT suspects were shot and killed, and three others arrested following a CIT armed robbery in the province. Some of the money that was stolen during the robbery was recovered. Through Operation Shanela, the province arrested more than 72 000 suspects for crime related offences, confiscated 2 230 unlicensed firearms and 28 000 rounds of ammunition. Drugs worth more than R2 million were recently seized in East London. During the financial year 2023/24, the province managed to secure 109 life sentences for 103 suspects. A seven life term imprisonment sentence was also imposed on a serial rapist in Gqeberha. Source : South African Government News Agency