Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela, the head of special forces in Gauteng, is set to be announced as the province's commissioner.

Police minister Bheki Cele and national police commissioner Khehla Sitole are expected to make the announcement on Wednesday.

An official in the Gauteng police department who asked not to be named told Sowetan that Mawela has already occupied the office left vacant by Lieutenant-General Deliwe De Lange.

“He [Mawela] has taken up office and has met with most of his staff,” said the official. “His appointment was announced internally last week, but he will be announced to the public during this course of this week.”

Cele and Sithole are also expected to make a few other announcements in a bid to reshuffle the police department.

De Lange vacated her post in October after 35 years in the police service. In June last year, De Lange was said to have been forced out of the service, a decision which was later rescinded.

She was arrested and accused of being part of an elaborate fraud scheme involving supposedly dubious tax certificates for a lucrative R84m tender involving government vehicles. She was granted R20,000 bail after being charged with corruption, fraud, forgery and uttering.

Mawela has worked his way up through the ranks, first serving at various police stations in Gauteng as a detective commander and station commander.

He was appointed deputy area commissioner of Pretoria until 2004 when he occupied the position of head of the ports entry component of the protection and security services division.