Bantu Holomisa slams Mapisa-Nqakula for appointment of air force chief 'who can’t fly a plane'

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa has slammed former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula after revelations that SA Air Force chief Wiseman Mbambo apparently cannot fly an aircraft and does not have a pilot’s licence. 

According to Sunday Independent, Mbambo’s appointment without a pilot’s licence sent shock waves through the SA National Defence Force (SANDF). 

An identified veteran air force official told the publication: “It’s like appointing a traffic officer as the head of detectives and justifying it by saying he has issued a lot of tickets to several criminals in his career.”

“Former minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, what is this nonsense?” asked Holomisa in reaction.

“These are the commanders you recommended to the president. No wonder.”

Mapisa-Nqakula has not responded to Holomisa’s comments.

Mbambo was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year. 

He served in several positions in the air force, including general officer commanding the air force base Waterkloof and chief of staff air operations. 

“Maj-Gen Mbambo began his military career in Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), where, among other things, he served as a training instructor in the Kibaxe Camp in Angola and was commander in charge of the former MK military aviation group that underwent training in the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991,” Ramaphosa said on Mbambo’s appointment. 

Ramaphosa said upon taking up their positions, Mbambo and two others would be promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general.

“I am confident that under the leadership of these men and women, the SANDF will continue to fulfil its constitutional responsibility to defend and protect the republic, its territorial integrity and its people,” he said.