Zuma sacks Cele - report
2012-06-06 20:07
Xolani Mbanjwa and Paddy Harper, City Press
Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma has apparently fired suspended police
commissioner General Bheki Cele.
Zuma's spokesperson Mac Maharaj would on Tuesday say only that
the president would make his decision about Cele public when he was "ready" to
do so.
But City Press has learned from three independent
well-placed sources that Zuma decided yesterday to fire Cele after considering
the report produced by a board of inquiry which was set up to assess Cele’s fitness
for office.
The board recommended in its report to Zuma that Cele should
be fired.
Maharaj said: "When the president is ready he will make his
decision public and we will release a statement."
Cele was suspended in October last year amid massive controversy
over two lucrative lease deals, one for police headquarters in Pretoria and
another in Durban.
The leases, worth more than R1.6bn, were awarded by
the department of public works to property mogul Roux Shabangu in 2010.
The board of inquiry found that Cele lacked the capacity to
execute his official duties efficiently and was not fit to hold office.
Cele's spokesperson, Vuyo Mkhize, could not be reached for
comment.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Lindela Mashigo said he would
need to talk to acting police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla
Mkhwanazi before making any comment.
