Cope wants Cele replaced quickly

2012-05-25 18:01

Johannesburg - Suspended police commissioner Bheki Cele must be replaced quickly and with someone who is "incorruptible", the Congress of the People (Cope) said in a statement on Friday.

Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem said the police's reputation had been tainted by its history of controversial leadership and the number of senior policemen facing corruption, fraud, and murder allegations.

Bloem was responding to media reports that the board of inquiry into Cele's fitness to hold office had recommended he be removed.

The Mail & Guardian reported on Friday that the three-person inquiry unanimously recommended he be sacked.

This was dismissed by President Jacob Zuma's spokesperson Mac Maharaj.

"The president has received the report and is processing it, and until then he will not engage in speculation," Maharaj said.

Bloem said Cope called on the president to act with speed by making the inquiry's findings public and appointing a new commissioner.

Cele's spokesperson, Vuyo Mkhize, told The Witness that Cele would consider "all available avenues to challenge the validity of the report, including a review application to the High Court".

Zuma appointed the board of inquiry in November to probe Cele's fitness to remain in office, and allegations of misconduct relating to two leases for new police headquarters in Pretoria and Durban, which Cele signed with property tycoon Roux Shabangu.

- SAPA