Zuma was appointed by national police commissioner General Riah Phiyega on Saturday, only for the appointment to be withdrawn a few hours later after it emerged that he would soon be appearing in court on various charges.
Two weeks ago, parliament heard that thousands of police officers, including high ranking officials, had criminal records.
Zuma had replaced Lieutenant General Mzwandile Petros, who has left the police service.
In the interim, Lieutenant General Lesetja Mothiba, divisional commissioner for visible policing, will act as the provincial commissioner of Gauteng until further notice, Phiyega said.
“Prior to the appointment, in line with South African Police Service prescripts, it was established that Zuma did not have a criminal record. It was further established that he did not have any internal disciplinary charges pending against him,” said Phiyega.
“I became aware of the court charges against him just after the media briefing where I announced his appointment.
“I immediately met with him to establish the facts. He confirmed that indeed he had appeared several times in court since 2008 when the matter was first heard. He will be appearing again during September.
“It is clear that, in line with this policy, Zuma failed to comply with the provisions of the instruction to declare all criminal records and court appearances.
“Disciplinary steps will be taken against Zuma for his failure to declare the pending criminal charges.
