Cele rings in the changes with new top cop appointments

The police’s upper echelons got a revamp on Thursday as Police Minister Bheki Cele and national police commissioner Khehla Sitole announced several senior appointments.

Major-General Anthony Jacobs, a former head of crime intelligence in the Western Cape, was officially appointed as the new divisional commissioner of crime intelligence.

Jacobs takes up a role tainted by his predecessors such as Richard Mdluli.

Mdluli – who was suspended from this post in 2012 with full pay while on trial for intimidation, kidnapping, assault and murder – was finally relieved of his duties in January.

According to Cele and Sitole, Jacobs has been vetted and does not have a criminal record or scandal, and is a deserving candidate to lead the unit.

“As we bring in the new appointee [Jacobs] within crime intelligence, we expect an immediate turnaround of crime intelligence. Part of that turnaround is that no person who does not have security clearance remains in the unit,” explained Sitole.

Other appointments included Major-General Moeketsi Sempe who was appointed as provincial commissioner of the Free State. He takes over a post vacated in 2016 when former Free State commissioner Thabethe Mpembe retired from the police force.

Major-General Samson Shitlabane was appointed divisional commissioner of protection and security services, while the only female appointment was Major-General Tebello Mosikili, who was announced as the divisional commissioner: detective services.

Cele, who was visibly pleased with his appointments, told the media “you will be supplied with their CVs [the appointees], you [the media] will smile when you get see their credentials and will notice that the SAPS is pushing its standard up.”