Acting national police commissioner Lt. Genl. Puleng Dimpane officially introduced Lt. Gen. Arthur Peter Adams at the North West Disaster Management Centre in Mahikeng on Thursday (30/7). He will formally assume his duties on Saturday (1/8).

Adams has served in the police for 34 years and is regarded as one of South Africa’s most experienced operational commanders. His qualifications include public order policing, national intervention unit operations and training, and advanced VIP close protection, Dimpane said.

He was also among the pioneering members selected for the elite counter assault team, a specialised tactical unit responsible for responding to medium and high-risk operations requiring advanced operational capabilities and coordinated intervention.

Premier Lazarus Mokgosi, newly appointed North West commissioner Lt. Gen. Arthur Peter Adams and acting national police commissioner Lt. Genl. Puleng Dimpane. Photo supplied

“Lt. Gen. Adams is expected to strengthen leadership across all five districts and 86 police stations, build capable policing institutions, improve operational readiness, reinforce consequence management, restore discipline, and deepen partnerships with communities in the collective fight against crime,” Dimpane said.

She thanked acting provincial commissioner Maj. Gen. Ryno Naidoo for leading the province during the transition. The position had been vacant since 2024, but policing services continued without interruption under his leadership, Dimpane said.

Naidoo provided stable leadership, maintained operational consistency, and contributed to successes achieved across the province while preserving discipline, professionalism, and organisational stability during the extended period without a permanently appointed provincial commissioner, she added.

Maj. Gen. Ryno Naidoo congratulating the new North West provincial commissioner. Photo supplied

Adams said he was humbled by the appointment and pleased to reunite with officers with whom he had previously worked in the province. National police management had decided North West would be his home for the next five years, he said.

“I really feel humbled to come home, to what is now my second home. I have been all over, but home is where the South African Police Service wants me,” Adams said.

He pledged to serve North West residents with discipline, honour, dignity and integrity, saying integrity had guided him throughout his career. He welcomed support from the provincial government and stressed that fighting crime could not remain the responsibility of police alone.

“It takes the whole of society to deal with the issues that confront society. North West has in recent years been a focal point of illicit mining, even during my time as a district commissioner in Bojanala,” Adams said.

Interventions introduced by provincial and national authorities to combat illegal mining must now produce tangible results, he said. Adams also committed himself to addressing gender-based violence and strengthening cooperation between police, communities, government departments and other partners.

He cautioned against portraying his appointment as the arrival of a saviour. His role would instead be to provide stewardship and ensure that the province’s operational directives were implemented effectively, Adams said.

“My appointment should not be seen as the arrival of a messiah, but rather of a steward who will ensure the operational direction of the province,” he said, stressing that no individual could fight crime alone.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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