President Cyril Ramaphosa says an announcement is imminent after National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola was summoned to appear in court next month over a controversial R360 million SAPS tender.
“I am having conversations with the various people involved in the security cluster, and we will be making an announcement soon about what I am going to do,” Ramaphosa said.
“So it will be coming soon – watch this space.”
Ramaphosa said this on Thursday afternoon on a site visit to a Free State housing project, accompanied by the Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane and delegations from the Free State provincial government.
He said he was concerned about instability within the police service and revelations emerging from the ad hoc committee and the Madlanga Commission.
Both bodies were established after a July 5, 2025 media briefing by KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who alleged corruption, the shielding of criminal networks and political interference in the justice system.
“It is most concerning and should concern all of us,” Ramaphosa said.
“That is why I appointed the commission – so that the truth may come out and we can turn a new page in policing. What has been aired is disturbing, but we now need to move forward, appoint people who will serve and protect South Africans.”
Earlier on Thursday, acting police minister Firoz Cachalia confirmed Masemola had been charged under the Public Finance Management Act, though not with corruption.
Cachalia said he would meet Ramaphosa to discuss the matter amid a growing crisis within the South African Police Service. Masemola remains in his post pending the president’s decision.
“General Masemola has been charged under Section 38 of the Public Finance Management Act, which concerns the standards an accounting officer must meet in procurement decisions,” Cachalia told eNCA.
He added that others implicated face more serious allegations.
“As far as I understand, others have been charged with corruption. General Masemola has not. However, charges under procurement legislation are serious enough,” he said.
Masemola is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on April 21, according to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago, who declined to comment further on the summons.
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed on Wednesday that the case relates to the Medicare24 procurement tender.
She said Masemola would comply with the legal process.
“General Masemola welcomes any investigation or due process that seeks to address allegations of wrongdoing,” she said.
Ramaphosa also acknowledged the arrest of 12 senior police officers linked to the tender, including Brigadiers Rachel Matjeng, Kistey Jonker and Ofentse Tlhoaele, as well as General Temba.
They face allegations of fraud, money laundering and violations of the Public Finance Management Act.
Former senior officer Brigadier Petunia Lenono has also been arrested.
She resigned weeks before the tender was awarded to Medicare24 Tshwane – a timing now under scrutiny.
At the centre of the scandal is businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala, whose links to the multimillion-rand contract have triggered a wide-ranging investigation into alleged corruption and procurement irregularities within SAPS.
IOL Politics
