It seems fitting that Jacob Zuma ? a president who rallies his troops with calls for his machine gun and entertains them with a well-oiled song-and-dance routine ? has picked a sharp-dressing gun-totting 'cowboy' as his sheriff.

If anything, Bheki Cele makes Zuma look subdued, presidential. With his flashy dress sense and penchant for hats, the new national police commissioner is a showman whose flamboyant style would verge on the ridiculous were it not for the mafia-style edginess he brings to the stage.

His opinionated, and oftentimes irreverent, outspokenness fits well with a regime which has entrusted Julius Malema with the leadership of its youth. And his promise to 'shoot to kill' appeals to the vigilante in all of us. It appeals to a population disempowered and disillusioned by crime. It appeals to the same population who voted in a charismatic, albeit flawed, populist leader.

We take a look at the man who has stepped into Jackie Selebi's empty boots; the man entrusted with our safety.

Born: 22 April 1952.

Education: Diploma in education.

Marital status: Single.

Struggle cred: Cele found his early political home in the United Democratic Front (UDF). As a teacher, he joined the underground structures of the ANC under the leadership of Jacob Zuma. In 1984, after attracting the attention of South Africa's security police, Cele went into exile in Angola and joined Umkhonto we Sizwe. He returned to South Africa and was captured his 1987. He was imprisoned on Robben Island until 1990.

Post-1994 work: Since 1994, Cele has served as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature on the Safety and Security portfolio. Since 2004, Cele held the post of MEC for Transport, Safety and Security in KwaZulu-Natal.

Fitness for office: Bheki Cele has no policing experience, which makes it difficult to establish his fitness for office. Although opposition parties have pointed to the fact that, under his tenure, deaths in police custody and as a result of police action in KwaZulu-Natal have been the highest in the country and have shown a 47 percent increase.

However, there are also positives, which suggest that Cele may be the right man for the job. He was involved in negotiating a settlement between KwaZulu-Natal's conflicting taxi factions and he pioneered the 'Catching Crime on the Highway' and the 'Zero tolerance to 100% compliance in KwaZulu-Natal' initiatives whilst MEC for Transport, Safety and Security.

Controversies:

  • In May 2007, Cele was involved in a 'blue light' incident when his VIP units were filmed driving at speeds exceeding 160km/h. Cele claimed that he was late for a meeting and that this constituted an 'emergency'. He accused the individual who caught the speeding on camera of racism.

  • In March 2008, he was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of a hit-and-run accident for which his friend, businessman Prince Sifiso Zulu, was later charged.

  • Following criticism from Desmond Tutu after the charges against Jacob Zuma were dropped, Cele launched a vitriolic diatribe against the archbishop.

  • In the build-up to the hotly-contested elections earlier this year, Cele was accused of brandishing a firearm at members of the opposition party in the province, the Inkatha Freedom Party.

  • Cele recently suggested that he would support a moratorium on the annual releasing of crime statistics, claiming that this would help the police as the criminals would not be able to make use of the information.

    • Public opinion on Cele's 'shoot to kill' directive

    What do you think of the Bheki Cele? Should he be given time to settle in and prove his worth? Share your thoughts below?