Cele reshuffles provincial commissioners

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Pretoria - The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Bheki Cele, has made two changes to the provincial management of police.

The Provincial Commissioners of Limpopo and Free State provinces will swap portfolios.

Lieutenant General Tshifhiwa Sengani will assume command of police in the Free State and his counterpart, Lieutenant General Amon Mashigo will be posted as the manager of the police in Limpopo. 

SAPS said this move was necessitated by ongoing strained relations in the management of the SAPS within the Free State office.

The commissioners will assume their respective posts on Monday, 15 November 2010. 

The three serving Deputy Provincial Commissioners of the Free State will be posted to other provinces over time.

An investigation aimed at addressing the underlying reasons for the tensions in the Free State office has begun.

"The intervention by the police headquarters is necessary because conflict within the management echelon can affect service delivery adversely in the Free State. This conflict is not needed within the law-enforcement environment, hence this swift reshuffle", said General Cele.

The Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, has welcomed this move.