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The South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African public deserve clarity from President Zuma on the Board of Inquiry due to investigate Bheki Cele, and the appointment of Major General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as acting National Police Commissioner.

I will today be writing to President Zuma to ask that he provides clarity on the following issues:

• Why the relatively inexperienced, and only recently promoted, Major General Mkhwanazi has been appointed to the top post in the SAPS, ahead of a large pool of senior and experienced SAPS managers. Other potential candidates included five deputy commissioners, nine national divisional commissioners and nine provincial commissioners. Major General Mkhwanazi’s ties to President Zuma’s political support base in KwaZulu Natal also raise questions about the influence of political considerations in making this appointment.

• Whether the President will consider extending the terms of reference of the Board of Inquiry to include the financial mismanagement of SAPS under Bheki Cele’s leadership. During Bheki Cele’s tenure as accounting officer, the SAPS racked up an irregular expenditure bill potentially exceeding R1.5 billion. This must be investigated further.

Bheki Cele’s time as SAPS boss was marked by increasing levels of criminality, and a disdain for accountability, within the police service. It is right that he has been suspended, and we trust that, should the Board of Inquiry corroborate the findings of the Public Protector, he will be fired.

While due process must be followed, this inquiry needs to be completed as soon as possible. The SAPS cannot afford another long period of uncertainty and instability, like that which accompanied the drawn out investigation into former police boss Jackie Selebi.

However, the President must ensure that the person set to succeed Bheki Cele in the immediate future will help to restore public faith in the SAPS, not erode it further. The only way to do this is to appoint a career police officer.