By Anita Dangazele
- Senona resigned on Friday, 26 June, two days before the 60th birthday he told the Madlanga Commission he wanted to reach “honourably”.
- He faces accusations linked to the theft of 541kg of cocaine worth R200 million from a Hawks storage facility in 2021.
Major-General Lesetja Senona has quit the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal. He resigned with immediate effect on Friday.
Senona first asked to retire in February. SAPS turned him down.
He has spent months testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. The commission has been digging into the theft of 541kg of cocaine, worth R200 million, from a Hawks storage facility in Port Shepstone in 2021. Senona has also faced questions about his links to alleged crime figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Earlier this month, Senona told the commission he was turning 60 on 28 June. He said he wanted to leave the police “honourably” and on pension.
“I don’t want to be expelled before I go on pension for things I didn’t do,” he said.
He resigned anyway, two days before his birthday.
Resigning with immediate effect ends an employment contract straight away. Under South African labour law, this can stop an employer from continuing a disciplinary inquiry once someone is no longer an employee.
But Senona’s resignation does not get him out of the Madlanga Commission. A judicial commission of inquiry gets its powers from the law that set it up, not from anyone’s job. It can still call Senona to testify, and he can still face criminal penalties or a warrant of arrest if he refuses.
Senona has previously told the commission he feared for his safety and that of his family. He has also accused other officers, including retired Lieutenant-Colonel Jakobus Prinsloo, of withholding information about the cocaine theft.
Pictured above: KZN Hawks head Major-General Lesetja Senona testifies before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Image source: File
