BY STAFF
Lieutenant General Mawela hangs his boots as he bows out of service after 39 years of uninterrupted, loyal, and dedicated service. Mawela joined the South Africa Police Service [SAPS] as a student constable in 1984 where he started serving Mamelodi policing precinct and worked his way up in the ranks to the level of Lieutenant General in 2011.
Mawela has served in several senior roles and capacities including that of Deputy Area Commissioner of Pretoria, Component Head: Boarder, policing Divisional Commissioner: Operational Response Service [ORS], and NatJOINTS Chairperson. For the past five [5] years Mawela served as a Provincial Commissioner on a five-year contract and his term of office comes to an end today.
The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service [SAPS], General Fannie Masemola, has, on behalf of the service wished the outgoing Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela well on his retirement. Today it marks the official retirement of Lieutenant General Mawela from the SAPS after serving for nearly four decades.
General Masemola has praised Mawela for being a great operator and the epitome of a servant leader. He says Mawela has accomplished a lot during his illustrious career by fostering strong relations with communities and various key stakeholders in the fight against crime which in the long run gave birth to his brainchild “O KAE MOLAO”, where Gauteng Police officers embarked on high-density operations to trace wanted suspects, confiscate illegal goods and recover illegal and stolen vehicles and firearms. The ultimately birthed OPERATION SHANELA.
“This is a commander who has left an indelible footprint as an operator in all units, stations, and components he has led. A true operator, a man of actionto him it didn’t matter where he was deployed to, he served the people of South Africa for the past four decades with sheer diligence and commitment it has been an honour to serve alongside you . We will miss him and wish him well in his retirement. Thank you to his family for allowing him to serve”, said General Masemola.