Come Wednesday 1 January Major General Lancelot Mathebula will add the post of SA Air Force (SAAF) Deputy Chief to his current duties as project leader of the fledgling SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Space Command.
The two-star is a 24-year veteran in the blue uniform qualifying as an officer in the same year – 2000 – he joined.
Mathebula earned his wings in December 2002 and, according to a CV provided by the SANDF Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC), has logged 1 800 plus flying hours and is pilot attack instructor (PAI) rated. His hours come from cockpit time while serving in the SAAF Directorate Combat Systems where he piloted PC-7 Mk II, Impala Mk I and II, Hawk Mk 120 and Gripen aircraft.
His CV includes a two-year stint as Officer Commanding (OC) “fighter town” – Air Force Base (AFB) Makhado – home to 2 Squadron (Gripen) and the Hawk 120s of 85 Combat Flying School (CFS). He was transferred from the Limpopo base to SAAF Headquarters in Pretoria in March 2023 as Chief Director Force Preparation.
In September, a week before this year’s Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition at AFB Waterkloof, SANDF Chief Rudzani Maphwanya announced the SAAF two-star as the first team leader of SCIPT (Space Command Integrated Planning Team).
Mathebula’s flying skills are backed by management ones obtained while studying for a post graduate diploma in security and management at the University of the Witwatersrand.
He takes over as number two to Lieutenant General Wiseman Mbambo from Major General Mayenzeke Matanda who exits after 23 months as SAAF Deputy Chief.
