Appointment of Chief of Joint Operations
Date: 2 August 2007
The Minister of Defence, the Honourable Mosiuoa Lekota and the Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Godfrey Nhlanhla Ngwenya, are pleased to announce the appointment of Lieutenant General Themba Templeton Matanzima as the new Chief of Joint Operations of the South African National Defence Force. He will assume this post with effect from 1 September 2007. Major General Derrick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi succeeds Lieutenant General Matanzima as Chief of Human Resources and is promoted to the substantive rank of Lieutenant General with effect from 1 September 2007.
Lieutenant General Matanzima led the Transkei Defence Force during integration and was later appointed as General Officer Commanding of the Transkei Defence Force Closing Down Headquarters. He was later appointed as the General Officer Commanding Eastern Province Command in 1996. He was then appointed as Chief Director Corporate Services at the Army Office and subsequently promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Chief of Personnel and thereafter Chief of Joint Support. He also held the appointment of Chief of Corporate Staff on the staff of Chief of the South African National Defence Force on 1 June 2004. On 1 August 2005, Lieutenant General Matanzima was appointed as Chief of Human Resources.
Major General Mgwebi, who succeeds Lieutenant General Matanzima as Chief of Human Resources began his military career in 1978 and has since completed the Senior Command and Staff Course as well as Executive National Security Programme (ENSP). He was appointed Director Special Forces and then Director Training and Operations in the SANDF. In 1995 he held the position of Military Secretary to the Minister of Defence and later, during 1997, he became General Officer Commanding Mpumalanga Command. He was then appointed as General Officer Commanding of the South African Army Infantry Formation and also served as General Officer Commanding Joint Operations Operational Headquarters. In 2004 he has served as the Force Commander of the African Union Mission in Burundi. He subsequently became the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Burundi. His last appointment was as the Chief of Army Force Preparation.
SANDF announcement
