It was February 1993 when 23-year-old Derrick Goosen first got behind the wheels of his Toyota Corolla 1.6 GL. The young man from Wonderboom South in Pretoria would however enjoy his new ride only for a short while.
One day in October that year, Goosen discovered that his pride and joy was gone. He immediately rushed to the Moot police station to report his car stolen.
With no insurance for the car, his only hope was for the car to be recovered so he could get his wheels back. But that was not to be the case. Days turned into months, months into years, and years into decades with no sign of the car.
“At the time I did not have insurance for the car and after reporting it [stolen], I never heard anything about it,” said Goosen, who currently lives in Centurion.
Twenty-two years later, Goosen received a call that would reunite him with his prized possession. Through the dedication, hard work and perseverance of Warrant Officer Kwakwa Ntokola from the Seshego Vehicle tracking unit in Limpopo, Goosen has his car back.
“Three weeks ago, I received a call from officer Ntokola from the vehicle theft unit to ask if I was driving such a car back then. Old memories came back and we started the process of fetching the car,” he said.
