Axed police commissioner Bheki Cele declared on Wednesday he will fight to clear his name.
He said he would approach the high court before the end of the week to seek a review of the Moloi report on which President Jacob Zuma relied to fire him.
In addition, he said he would file a formal complaint with the Judicial Service Commission against Judge Jake Moloi who led the commission of inquiry into his involvement in police accommodation tenders.
Speaking at a news conference in Pretoria on Wednesday morning, Cele slammed the media, specifically the Sunday Times, and reports on the inquiries by Moloi and the public protector into allegations against him.
Attacking Judge Moloi, Cele said: “Someone must have prevailed upon him to return the recommendation he did.”
He accused Judge Moloi of abandoning his oath of office with the deliberate intention of damaging his
reputation and hounding him out of his job.
Cele said his reason for taking legal action was to seek a declaration that the Moloi report was invalid.
In particular he wanted to challenge Moloi’s recommendations that a criminal investigation should be opened against him and that he should be fired.
If he were to be successful in his legal challenge it would render his dismissal as SA’s top cop as invalid.
He also said he wanted Zuma to indicate which elements of the Moloi report he had relied on to reach his decision.
Zuma announced Cele’s firing on Tuesda, saying the former top cop had served SA well in its fight against crime, and announcing the appointment of Mangwashi “Riah” Phiyega as the new commissioner.
Response to her appointment has been mixed; while she has strong business credentials, she has no policing experience.
Cele thanked his wife for her support and said he would not have made it to this point without her.
He lauded former colleagues in the police force and urged them to continue the good work they were doing.
Cele said he had received lots of messages of support, especially from the KwaZulu-Natal ANC.
Cape Argus
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