Cape Town - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) has appointed Major General Mathipa Makgato as its new head in the Western Cape.
Makgato started his career in 1988 as a constable and climbed up the ranks of the South African Police Service (SAPS), where he was later promoted to a captain in 2000.
According to information from the Hawks, during his tenure as captain, Makgato served as a commander in the following units: the client service centre in Honeydew, Westonaria Detectives and as an area task team commander and a group commander at Florida Detectives. He was then promoted to a lieutenant colonel in 2004 and appointed to the serious and violent crimes unit.
He continued his work at the organised crime unit in Gauteng and was later transferred to Pretoria in 2010, where he assumed his duties as a group leader and investigator at the organised crime unit.
Later that same year, Makgato was appointed as a section commander at the Hawks and was promoted to a colonel in 2012 at the serious organised crime division in the Northern Cape. In 2016, he was transferred as a provincial commander of the same division.
During his tenure, Makgato was promoted to brigadier and appointed as the section head of the serious organised crime division.
He holds a national diploma in public administration and a B-tech degree from Technikon South Africa. He is currently studying towards his masters degree through Unisa.
National head of the Hawks Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya welcomed Makgato’s appointment and said he believed this would go a long way towards addressing the capacity challenges currently faced by the directorate.