Meet the South African traffic cop who can’t get enough of studying

Meet Comet Mosena, the genius traffic cop from Musina in Limpopo who is a true example that hard work never killed anybody. Mosena eats, sleeps, drinks and dreams books.

Although some people struggle with one qualification, Mosena regards completing four qualifications simultaneously as a bread-and-butter affair. The smart cop has countless higher education qualifications and he continues to study on a daily basis. His latest qualification is the Baccalaureus Technologiae in Road Traffic and Police Management from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

The policeman with academics on his mind

“I draw my inspiration from the quotation of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle who said that the roots of education are bitter but the fruit is sweet. This quote is closely attached to my heart and I recite it silently every time before I start writing my examinations,” said Mosena, who works as an assistant superintendent of law enforcement at the Musina Municipality Traffic Division.

Mosena qualified as a traffic officer from the Limpopo Traffic College in 2008.

“I started working for the Limpopo Provincial Traffic Police in 2009 and later joined Musina Municipality. I realised that it is important for me to keep on studying so that I can serve my people diligently. Besides that, an educated person applies his mind better and easier even in difficult situations. I pride myself by being one of the most successful traffic cops in terms of drunken driving prosecution cases. They say it is very difficult to prove the evidence in the court of law but I use my educational wisdom to back up my cases,” he says.

Mosena started his long journey to wisdom when he completed his National Certificate in Criminal Justice with the Tswane University of Technology (TUT) in 2000. He registered for a three-year National Road Traffic and Municipal Policing with Lyceum College in 2015. The following year, he again registered for a three-year National Diploma in Road Traffic Management with TUT while studying for his Baccalaureus Technologiae in Road Traffic and Police Management with the same institution.

On top of all of this, he was also doing a diploma in Computer from Mokobi Consulting in Musina. This means that he was studying for four qualifications at the same time. Interestingly, he passed all his qualifications with flying colours. He has currently submitted a proposal of full dissertation for a masters of commerce and transport economics degree with UNISA. His topic is: Human factors as the critical elements which lead to road traffic fatalities in the city of Polokwane in Limpopo.

Where to next?

“After finishing my dissertation with Unisa, I will proceed to do my Phd in two years’ time,” he said happily.

Amazingly, Mosena is funding his educational needs from his own pocket.

“I have to sacrifice the little I get from my salary to finance my education. Sometimes I attend block classes for a week for six months in succession in Pretoria. I have to make sure that I have enough money for transport, food and hotel accommodation to meet my obligations. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my wife, Nare Mosena, who sometimes realises that I’m exhausted and drives me to Pretoria to attend my classes. Indeed, she is the pillar of my strength.”

Mosena said his love of education could not fade even in difficult situations.

“My house and car caught fire in 2015 while I was busy preparing for my examinations. Two days later, I lost my brother and could not abandon my examinations. I had to drive to Cape Town to collect my brother’s corpse, come back to Musina and drive back to Pretoria to write my examinations. After the examinations, I had to come home to bury my brother. Despite that, I passed my examinations,” he said.

And his advice to colleagues and the youth is?

“Education is the only source of wisdom. It is through education that we can build a great nation.”

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