Commissioner gets a befitting farewell
Ntobela and his family were also showered with lots of gifts such as vouchers and a camping trailer.
MBOMBELA – A farewell befitting that of a king was held for the now former provincial police commissioner Lt Gen Thulani Ntobela after serving for 33 years in the South African Police Service of which five years were spent in Mpumalanga.
“The purpose of the event is to acknowledge the sterling leadership by our father, brother and strategic leader, UMjokane kaNdaba. Go well, you have run your race and finished with distinction. Against all odds you prevailed,” remarked the province’s acting commissioner Maj Gen Meshack Nogwanya.
The event was attended by throngs of police from the province and provincial commissioners from other provinces, who were stylishly clad in their evening wear, as well as other dignitaries and Ntobela’s family.
Throughout the event, speaker after speaker praised Ntobela’s leadership and management qualities. He was also showered with praises for his achievements of reducing crime in the province.
“When you arrived in the province five years ago, the province was counted among the least-performing ones, we were rated position nine when it comes to crime stats in the country and now we are in position three,” a speaker said.
It was also heard although Ntobela was a disciplinarian, he always kept a broad smile on his face and never raised his voice, even when he was angry.
A video on the life of Ntobela since his arrival in 2009 was also shown and bottled water carried the message: “Although you are going away, your morals, ethics and advice will always stay with us. Thanks for being such an inspiration!”
Ntobela and his family were also showered with lots of gifts such as vouchers and a camping trailer.
In his words of appreciation, Ntobela mentioned that upon his arrival in the city five years ago, he was worried by the fact that there was no police visibility and hence he had changed that through communication with sector heads and the introduction of accounting sessions in the sector, introduction of prayer days, community involvement projects including adopting some of the then problematic schools such as Mayibuye Secondary and Lihawu High School in Pienaar, as well as the launch of the provincial commissioner’s prestige awards to acknowledge the good work done by the men and women in blue.
Although he had retired in the police sector, his journey of fighting crime in the country still continues as he will join iFirm, a company belonging to the former Gauteng police commissioner and Ntobela’s close friend retired Gen Mzwandile Petros which specialises in forensic investigations, risk assessment and information gathering to name but a few.
