Gauteng Provincial Commissioner's appointment withdrawn

Pretoria - Following the media briefing today, where the National Commissioner, General Riah Phiyega, reflected on her first year in office and her new organisational structure, it emerged that one of the appointees, Major General Mondli Zuma, will soon be appearing in court on various charges.

General Phiyega wishes to advise the public as follows:

1. An instruction was issued on 28 May 2013 to all employees advising them that it was mandatory to declare any pending criminal investigation against them. Failure to comply is regarded as serious misconduct.

2. Prior to the appointment, in line with South African Police Service prescripts, it was established that Major General Zuma did not have a criminal record. It was further established that he did not have any internal disciplinary charges pending against him.

3. I became aware of the court charges against Major General Zuma just after the media briefing today. I immediately met with him to establish the facts. He confirmed that indeed he has appeared several times in court since 2008 when the matter was first heard. He will be appearing again next month, during September 2013.

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

5. I have therefore taken a firm decision to permanently withdraw his appointment.

6. Disciplinary steps will be taken against Major General Zuma for his failure to declare the pending criminal charges.

7. In the interim, Lieutenant General Lesetja Mothiba, Divisional Commissioner for Visible Policing, will act as the Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng until further notice.

8. I will also investigate why disciplinary proceedings were not initiated at the time the charges were brought against Major General Zuma in 2008.

9. In the time that I have known Major General Zuma, he has always come across as a decent, capable and committed police official and leader. I am sad and disappointed in Major General Zuma.

10. I have always known that during the process of steering this organisation in the right direction, such issues would from time to time emerge. As I have previously stated, don't judge me on the issues which emerge, but rather judge me on the actions that I take in response to those issues.

Statement issued by the Office of the National Commissioner, South African Police Service, September 1 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter