Within hours of being appointed Pretoria's metro police boss on Friday, opposition parties were claiming that Mahlomola Daniel Manganye could not legally command the Tshwane Metro Police because he does not have a Traffic Diploma and a Municipal Police Diploma.
They were also claiming that the vacancy was never advertised within the municipality.
Tshwane metro mayor Gwen Ramokgopa announced at a press conference in the Tshwane metro police headquarters that Manganye had been appointed Strategic Executive Director (SED) of the community safety department.
The department comprises of the metro police, fire brigade and the disaster management centre.
Ramokgopa said that Manganye's previous experience as a station commissioner made him the ideal candidate.
“Brigadier Manganye is expected to work with the team he is leading to ensure zero tolerance for crime, fraud and corruption and to execute his mandate with excellence and dedication and most importantly, without fear or favour,” she said.
The Democratic Alliance's Tshwane spokesperson for security Karen Meyer said that the South African Police Service Act required that the metro police chiefs should have a Traffic Diploma and a Municipal Police Diploma.
“Because we have no police chief, the SED becomes automatically responsible, but because he is not qualified in terms of the SAPS Act, he cannot run the metro police. Every action he would carry out would be illegal.”
Freedom Front Plus' Pretoria leader Philip van Staden said: “If he doesn't have the necessary qualifications he shouldn't be appointed.”
He said that the position had never been advertised internally within the municipality.
“Nobody in the municipality could apply because the post was never advertised,” he said.
Axed Ekurhuleni police chief Robert McBride made the shortlist for the position much to the horror of opposition parties earlier this year. - Sapa