Deputy military ombud appointed

Johannesburg - The Military Ombud, Lieutenant General Themba Matanzima, on Tuesday announced the appointment of the Deputy Military Ombud, Rendani Masutha.

President Jacob Zuma signed the appointment on February 20, but in terms of the Military Ombud Act 4 of 2012, Masutha only took office on April 1.

Masutha is a naval officer who had served as Director Military Defence Counsel from 2011 to 2017.

She was responsible for an "affordable, fully integrated, credible, sustainable, effective and efficient" military defence counsel service for members of the SANDF, whenever required.

She graduated from Naval College in 1995 - becoming the first black female officer in the navy -and joined the legal office in Simon's Town.

She completed her law degree at the University of Venda in 1990, and her LLB in 1993 at the University of the North, where she also lectured for six months. Masutha obtained a LLM from Unisa in 2003.

In 1995, she was appointed as a Military Law Officer till 1999, after which she was transferred to the Military Prosecution Counsel. She was also a military judge in 2004 and a senior military judge from 2005 to 2011.