Durban metro police chief Eugene Nzama, has been placed on special leave over concerns around his life and leadership.
|||Durban metro police chief Eugene Nzama, has been placed on special leave because of serious security concerns around his life and instability in the unit under his leadership, city manager S’bu Sithole said on Wednesday night.
The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) welcomed Nzama’s leave of absence, describing it as a bold move by the city.
Nzama has been placed on special leave for three months until the end of August.
Sithole said this arrangement was by consent after the pair met at Durban City Hall on May 29.
“But we are aware that he now intends to dispute the consensual element of this arrangement,” Sithole said.
He said Nzama was placed on special leave for three reasons. “A number of allegations have been made by unions, metro police staff and taxi owners against Nzama. The city wants to investigate these allegations objectively.”
He said the investigation would indicate whether action needed to be taken against Nzama or to clear his name.
Sithole said in recent months, the metro police had experienced a lot of instability under Nzama’s leadership. “We want to do a thorough assessment of the fundamental causes behind this instability, so as to address them appropriately.
He added there were also serious security concerns against Nzama that had come to the attention of the city. “We believe as a city, we should take appropriate steps to protect him as our employee.”
Vincent Ngubane has been appointed as acting metro police chief for the next three months.
This move comes four months after the damning Manase Report recommended that Nzama be axed or redeployed.
In recent months, Samwu has also questioned Nzama’s leadership and use of public money. It has, on several occasions, called for his removal.
Innocent Madlala, Samwu deputy secretary-general, described the move by the city as bold. “We welcome this investigation and hope that all the issues we have raised are thoroughly interrogated.”
The Manase Report found that 30 trainee metro police constables had bought their driving licences.
It was alleged that metro police college instructors had directed them to illegal driving schools. It also found that 14 metro officers were taxi owners, in contravention of metro police policies and national legislation. It recommended that Nzama be axed or reassigned to another department. - Daily News