NEW APPOINTMENT
Cabinet names top advocate Godfrey Lebeya to head the Hawks
Godfrey Lebeya is a former deputy police commissioner who was wrongly accused of plotting against Richard Mdluli
A former candidate for the public protector position who was pipped to the post by Thuli Madonsela has been appointed SA’s chief crime fighter. Seswantsho Godfrey Lebeya has been appointed by the Cabinet as the head of the directorate for priority crime investigation, the Hawks. Lebeya, a career cop with 30 years’ experience, was engaged in a long legal battle with former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega after she tried to dismiss him in March 2014. His appointment follows a period of turbulence in the Hawks, which has been accused of dragging its feet on corruption cases, especially those involving state capture. The elite police crime-fighting unit was also seen as a site of political contestation and manoeuvring under former president Jacob Zuma. Under former head Berning Ntlemeza, who was forced to step down in disgrace, the unit was also involved in an ugly public spat with then finance minister Pravin Gordhan. It is against this backdrop that Lebeya’s appointment was ...
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