Questions must be asked about top cop's "lucky" ascendancy 

It has been reported that the newly appointed National Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, leapfrogged over 30 senior generals when he was appointed to the SAPS' top post last week.

Mkhwanazi's nickname, Lucky, has certainly served him well in this case.

I will be submitting parliamentary questions to President Jacob Zuma, who is responsible for appointing the National Police Commissioner, to gain clarity on the following:

• Why a police officer with little management experience, who is not a career policeman, has been appointed to the top post in the SAPS, ahead of far more experienced senior SAPS members;
• Why Mkhwanazi was silently promoted from Major General to the rank of Lieutenant General last Wednesday;
• Which other SAPS personnel were considered for the post, and why Mkhwanazi was deemed to be the top candidate.

The DA has pursued the issue of "rank leapfrogging" in the SAPS for some time. At the end of last year, I wrote to President Zuma and the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission about allegations that Bheki Cele had reportedly bounced key SAPS appointees up the ranks overnight by as much as five levels. The Public Protector is currently investigating the issue of dodgy SAPS promotions.

SAPS principles for promotion state that "levels/ranks cannot be skipped" and that "personnel have to be in all respects suitable for promotion." The President must come clean about why it appears that SAPS procedure has been flouted in the appointment of the new police boss.

This is not a matter of debating Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi's ability as a police officer - he has been widely described as a rising star in the SAPS. Instead, it is a matter of finding out why President Jacob Zuma saw fit to appoint a relatively unknown officer, with few management skills, to the top job in the SAPS. This is particularly pertinent given the state of instability in the SAPS caused by former National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele's tumultuous tenure.

On Tuesday, South Africa's former Police Chief Jackie Selebi is due to appear in court in a last-ditch attempt to avoid being jailed for corruption.

Selebi's fall from grace is a reminder of the perils of appointing the wrong candidate to the top job in the police service. It was a mistake the President repeated when he appointed Bheki Cele, who is now being investigated for his role in the SAPS lease saga. 

President Zuma must provide Parliament and the South African public with his full rationale for appointing Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi. The SAPS cannot afford such a mistake to be made for a third time. 

Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, October 30 2011

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter