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Major General Tommy Mthombeni has been appointed in the post of Gauteng police commissioner, at the rank of Lieutenant General effective from Friday, March 1.
The position has been vacant in the beginning of February following Lt Gen Elias Mawela’s retirement.
National police commissioner said Mthombeni brings to this position a wealth of policing experience, having served as the Deputy Provincial Commissioner responsible for Visible Policing since 2020.
Lieutenant General Mthombeni joined the SAPS ranks in 1986 and has 37 years service.
“He has held several senior positions including that of Cluster Commander and District Commissioner of Tshwane, and the station commanders of Jabulani Police Station in Soweto and Station Commander for Pretoria Central Police Station in Tshwane.
“Mthombeni holds a National Diploma in Police Administration, and a National Higher Diploma in Policing and a Masters Degree in Public Administration.
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“He has been instrumental and a key figure in developing and implementing crime combating strategies to reduce levels of crime in the province and we have full confidence that he will continue to lead and contribute in ensuring that serious and violent crimes in this economic hub are dealt a blow,” he expressed.
The national police commissioner said they do believe that working together with other key stakeholders in the Justice Crime Prevention Cluster (JCPS), collectively Mthombeni will turn the tide against crime in Gauteng.
New Divisional Commissioner announced
Masemola also announce Major General Maropeng Johanna Mamothethi as the new Divisional Commissioner Visible Policing and Operations.
Mamothethi boast 28 years service and holds a Diploma in Policing, a B-tech degree in policing, and a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management.
“During her illustrious career in the SAPS, the member has served as a Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Support Services in the Northern Cape and also served as the Component Head for Social Crime Prevention where she was responsible for enhancing partnership policing programmes.
“In addition, she was responsible for ensuring we heighten our response to GBVF and enhance our awareness campaigns in response to youth substance abuse, amongst others.
“As the component head of Firearms, Liquor and Second-Hand Goods, she was instrumental in reducing the backlog in firearm licensing and firearms amnesty applications by 94%.
“In the 2021/2022 financial year, she oversaw the finalisation of 531 thousand, two hundred and forty nine firearms related applications. The effective management of the amnesty applications reduced the number of illegal firearms in circulation in the country.
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“Since April 2022, she has overseen the destruction of more than 72 000 firearms that were voluntarily surrendered to the state and confiscated during crime combating operations across the country,” he remarked.
Masemola stated that the filling of critical vacancies is a top priority for SAPS management and it is done to ensure accountability and stability within the organisation with a view of enhancing service delivery to our communities.
He added; “The appointment and filling of these critical vacancies is of chief importance in the organisation and forms part of my strategy to create and sustain an environment that will ensure a fully capacitated and functional police service that responds to the needs of our communities.”
