Colonel Lesibana Sylvester Somo has been appointed to lead the Limpopo provincial taxi violence unit, bringing more than 30 years of policing experience to one of the province’s most volatile crime environments.
Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said Somo is a seasoned detective whose career spans frontline policing, specialised investigations and command positions at both station and provincial level.
Somo joined the South African Police Service on 1 July 1988 in the former homeland of Lebowa and was later stationed at Lebowakgomo police station, where he performed community service centre duties and worked directly with communities.
His career progressed steadily through the detective environment, including appointments as detective commander at Mahwelereng, Tinmyne and Mokopane police stations, before he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2005.
Between 2005 and 2016, Somo played a key role in taxi violence investigations in Limpopo while also overseeing complex and cold-case investigations. In 2016, he was appointed provincial commander for Harmful Occult-Related Crimes at provincial headquarters.
Mashaba said Somo was later appointed provincial commander for Homicide and Missing Persons in 2023, where he was responsible for overseeing investigations into serious violent crimes across the province.
“He has been involved in a number of serious and complex cases that resulted in life sentence convictions,” Mashaba said.
In January 2023, an accused was convicted in connection with the Botlokwa murder case, while in March 2023 another accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder committed in Thohoyandou.
Somo was recently promoted to the rank of colonel and now takes over the provincial taxi violence unit, an area of policing that continues to be marked by intimidation, extortion and violent conflict within the taxi industry.
Police said his operational experience includes crime-scene management, preliminary investigations and oversight of case dockets, with a track record of improving investigative standards in units under his command.
Somo holds a matric certificate obtained in 1988 and a Diploma in Policing from Technikon RSA, majoring in Crime Investigation and Police Management.
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Jonisayi Maromo
iol.co.za
