Fannie Masemola has been appointed as the new National Commissioner of Police by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

On Thursday, March 31, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Sehlahe Fannie Masemola will succeed Khehla Sitole as national commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

MASEMOLA IS WELCOME AS THE NEW POLICE COMMISSIONER IN RAMAPHOSA.

Ramaphosa said Masemola has been a Deputy Police Commissioner with an “outstanding record of achievements” across the country, including helping with the de-escalation of violence in KwaZulu-Natal after the country’s first democratic elections.

The new commissioner also helped to “drastically reduce” cash-in-transit crimes in 2016.

Most recently, Masemola served as the Chairperson of the NATJOINTS on COVID-19, which helped the government coordinate its security efforts across different sectors, said Ramaphosa.

“Just as we have done tonight with SAPS, we will be taking further steps to restore stability to all our security structures, including filling critical vacancies in the State Security Agency and Crime Intelligence,” said Ramaphosa, promising to make more appointments.

To assist him in selecting a good candidate, the president created a selection team that includes Minister of Police Bheki Cele and Minister of Education Angie Motshekga, as well as other specialists.

Masemola was chosen from a pool of 24 candidates who held the rank of Lieutenant-General or higher.

SITOLE, GOODBYE

The termination of the outgoing Sitole was announced on February 25. Ramaphosa and the commissioner agreed that it was in South Africa’s best interests.

“I appreciate General Sitole’s openness and candor in our discussions about the termination of his post as National Commissioner. I’d want to express my gratitude to [him] for his many years of service to the country as a member of the SAPS. “I wish him luck in his future endeavors,” the President remarked.

Sitole joins a long list of police commissioners who have resigned in a public spat. Sitole’s feud with police minister Bheki Cele was well-documented, and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) opened a criminal case against him near the end of his term for allegedly refusing to cooperate with the investigation into the murder of Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear.

The 2021 July rioting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which resulted in the deaths of at least 337 people, was perhaps the worst blight of his presidency.