DURBAN – KwaZulu-Natal’s suspended police commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, has retired from the South African Police Services (SAPS).
On Thursday, the SAPS said that Ngobeni and Gauteng commissioner Lieutenant General Deliwe de Lange both retired on Wednesday. The women had been in the service for 31 and 35 years respectively.
KZN’s acting commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Sibusiso Mkhwanazi, would continue in his acting position, while Max Masha would also remain in his acting role in Gauteng.
“The National Commissioner of Police General Khehla John Sitole thanked both generals and wished them well in their retirement,” said the statement.
Ngobeni was suspended from her post in May 2016 after being accused of misconduct relating to her relationship with controversial Durban businessman and multi-millionaire Thoshan Panday.
A police service provider, Panday paid for a lavish birthday celebration for Ngobeni’s husband.
She was also accused of ordering police to stop investigating an allegedly corrupt tender for police accommodation provided by Panday.
Panday was suspected of being involved in a multi-million rand police tender scandal to provide accommodation for officers in Durban for the FIFA 2010 World Cup.
Since her suspension, Ngobeni challenged the office of the national commissioner’s power to set up the board of inquiry into the allegations.
She also challenged their decision to suspend her. She won the first round in the KZN High Court but in March the decision was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
Ngobeni had said she would approach the Constitutional Court regarding her suspension. Her contract with SAPS was set to end this year.
De Lange told Eyewitness News on Thursday that she felt it was “time” to resign.
“This is a voluntary decision and I’m leaving the organisation,” she said. In June, it was reported De Lange was forced out of the service but that decision was reversed and she remained on.