Tributes poured in on Friday for deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Sindile Mfazi, who died on Thursday night from Covid-19 complications.
Eastern Cape-born Mfazi, 59, was a former uMkhonto weSizwe operative and decorated policeman who served in many position in the SA Police Service.
This was confirmed by police minister Bheki Cele on Friday.
Cele said Mfazi had been responsible for intelligence, forensic and detective work.
[It is] a very important job that he was doing. We salute him. This reminds us that we still need to make a call to South Africans to say this new front of Covid-19 is real
“[It is] a very important job that he was doing. We salute him. This reminds us that we still need to make a call to South Africans to say this new front of Covid-19 is real.
“Let’s not undermine it, it kills.
“Maybe it is important that since the rollout of the vaccine has started, we call on police management to really move fast, because there will be no time to stay at home as policemen,” said Cele.
Cele’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, asked for the family to be given “some space”.
She said more details would be communicated in due course.
Mfazi joined the police service 39 years ago.
In 2018 he was appointed deputy national commissioner for management advisory services. He held the position of deputy national commissioner of crime detection since March 2020.
Before going to Pretoria, Mfazi was in the Western Cape as deputy commissioner from 2003 to 2008.
He was transferred to the Eastern Cape to serve as provincial head of crime intelligence for 10 years.
ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi said the party was devastated by the passing of “such a passionate, committed civil servant” whose loyalty to the nation and ANC “is unequalled”.
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