Mpumalanga’s head of community safety Thulani Sibuyi resigned on Tuesday following a spate of criminal investigations against him, premier David Mabuza said.

“We received his resignation letter and we have accepted it,” Mabuza said in a statement.

“After having some discussions with the HOD, we felt that he should recuse himself from his position since leadership responsibilities have been compromised by his personal problems.”

Mabuza said initially they wanted to leave the matter to the courts, but recent allegations compelled Mabuza to give him time to clear his name and to reflect.

Sibuyi, 37, who was convicted of drunk driving in 2008, appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday on new charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, impersonating a police officer, and resisting arrest. He is also facing fraud charges involving more than R140 million.

Gauteng police spokeswoman Lt-Col Katlego Mogale said Sibuyi was arrested in the early hours of Sunday after he was involved in an accident in Gauteng. She said his car was fitted with flashing blue lights.

Sibuyi was not asked to plead to the charges and was released on R1000 bail. Sibuyi’s employers did not suspend him after his arrest in August when he was charged with fraud.

He was expected to appear in the Nelspruit Regional Court on November 23 to face the fraud charges. He and his co-accused, Vusi Mashaba, 41, who owns GNT Security, handed themselves to the Nelspruit police on August 8 after a warrant of arrest was issued against them.

According to the State, Mashaba submitted a fraudulent tax clearance certificate on behalf of his company to the department.

The company allegedly illegally benefited from payments of R4m per month for over three years. GNT Security provided security services for the community safety department building.

The two are out on R50 000 bail each.

Sapa