New Gauteng police chief named, then fired

National Police Commissioner-General Riah Phiyega was left with egg on her face yesterday after she was forced to fire a senior police official a few hours after appointing him.

An embarrassed Phiyega had to withdraw the appointment of Major-General Bethuel Mondli Zuma as the Gauteng police commissioner, which she had announced at noon, after journalists pointed out to her at the press conference that Zuma faces charges of drunken driving, escaping lawful custody and defeating the ends of justice.

Zuma - who is not related to President Jacob Zuma - had been a United Democratic Front activist in the Natal Midlands.

He is a former bodyguard of late ANC stalwarts Harry Gwala and Walter Sisulu, and joined the SAPS VIP unit in 1994.

He was arrested in 2008 on a charge of drunken driving, but he is alleged to have escaped from custody and refused to have his blood taken. He is scheduled to appear in court again next month.

Following these revelations, Phiyega withdrew the appointment and appointed Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba as acting Gauteng commissioner.

In addition, Phiyega said disciplinary action would be taken against Zuma for failing to declare his pending cases. Phiyega claims she only became aware of the charges against Zuma after the briefing.

"Prior to the appointment, in line with SAPS precedents, it was established that Major-General Zuma did not have a criminal record.

"It is clear that, in line with this policy, Major-General Zuma failed to comply with the provisions of the instruction," said Phiyega.

This blunder raises concerns about the SAPS vetting process, as the police failed to pick up records of Zuma's pending case.

It also emerged yesterday that the new police commissioners of Limpopo and the Free State, both of whom were announced yesterday, have been involved in scandals as well.

The Sowetan newspaper recently reported that Lieutenant-General Simon Mpembe, the new Free State police commissioner, allegedly wasted thousands of rands of SAPS funds by respraying a white BMW X5 black, because he could not wait for a black one.

Furthermore, the DA claims that new Limpopo commissioner, Lieutenant-General Fannie Masemola, spent R35-million of the crime intelligence budget on 145 new cars for different units.

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said the appointments had failed to restore public confidence in the SAPS.

"We hope that Phiyega's questionable judgment will not be detrimental to the SAPS and affect the good work of thousands of hard-working and committed police officers."

The South African Police Union welcomed the withdrawal of Zuma's appointment. The union's Gauteng provincial secretary, Lesego Ntlatleng, said a number of police officers had laid grievances against Zuma because of his "autocratic management".

"SAPU believes the probe into his criminal cases must also go further, into the grievances lodged against him by thousands of officers.

"His appointment nearly compromised service delivery, as it would have led to low morale in the police force," said Ntlatleng.