Monde Lobese
Monde Lobese is a South African naval officer, serving as Chief of the South African Navy.
Military career
He left South Africa in 1985 to join Umkhonto We Sizwe and underwent training in East Germany before being selected for naval training in the Soviet Union. He integrated into the South African Navy in 1994.In 2009, he was appointed Director Fleet Logistics at Fleet Command as a Rear Admiral. In 2015 he joined Joint Operations Division as Director Operations Support where he stayed until being appointed Deputy Chief of the Navy in September 2021 and served as acting Chief after the retirement of Vice Admiral Samuel Hlongwane. He was appointed Chief of the Navy from 1 November 2022.
In November 2025 Lobese criticised the government for under-funding the South African Navy during a speech. In response, the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga issued a statement describing Lobese's speech as "inappropriate, disingenuous and unfortunate".