Major East Cape police reshuffle
Top brass mum as senior officers served with transfer papers A RESHUFFLE of Eastern Cape police top brass is on the cards, with some senior police officials having already been given orders to move to other areas.
The transfer papers were delivered to some station and cluster commanders late last month. Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Cynthia Binta and her communications team are, however, tight-lipped about the moves. But several officials have confirmed the reshuffle, the second of its kind in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in under five years. Last month, Gelvandale police station commander Brigadier Lawrence Soekoe was transferred to Aliwal North as a cluster commander. Soekoe, who will make the move later next week, was sent to the Gelvandale police station in 2012 in the previous major reshuffle. His transfer comes two months after Gelvandale police station constables, sergeants and warrant officers were handed transfer notices on October 16. They have been sent to police stations such as Uitenhage, Jansenville and Wolwefontein. Former provincial head of visible policing Brigadier Malibongwe Ntsabo has already taken over from Soekoe and will attempt to curb the ongoing gang wars. Ntsabo, who was a colonel and station commander of the Jeffreys Bay police station, was transferred to Joza police station in Grahamstown in 2014 and made head of visible policing.
Changes in the gang unit are also under way. The specialist unit, which was founded under orders from national police headquarters, falls under Mount Road cluster commander General Dawie Rabie. Former gang unit leader and veteran detective Mike Grobler, who has won awards for his good detective work, was promoted from captain to major and transferred out of the unit. Walmer police station’s Colonel Greg Botha was moved to the Gelvandale police station to assist the gang unit, while a colonel from Gelvandale is believed to be moving to the Walmer police station soon. The Humansdorp policing cluster office – which oversees Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Patensie and other police stations in the area – will be downgraded to a lower-ranking colonel post. The cluster is currently a brigadier post. “This means that station resources such as manpower and vehicles will have to be re-allocated and reshuffled based on the police stations’ structuring,” one official said. “Clusters and police stations are effectively downgraded or upgraded by this move. “Some will by default have fewer resources, while others will get more.” The Port Alfred cluster, which is a colonel cluster and includes Alexandria, Kenton-on-Sea, Bathurst, Port Alfred and surrounding police stations, will be upgraded to a brigadier level. Colonel Lizette Zeelie is the Port Alfred station commander and acting cluster commander. Binta’s spokeswoman, Colonel Sibongile Soci, declined to comment, saying the reshuffle was an internal matter.
