The country’s security cluster has been plunged further into crisis after national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola was summoned to appear in court next month over the R360m health tender awarded to Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala.
Experts say this latest development in the security cluster further highlights a deteriorating system within the SAPS as currently the police top brass have been removed from office.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu is on suspension, and so are Masemola’s deputy Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya and head of organised crime Maj-Gen Richard Shibiri.
They were all suspended over their alleged links to criminal cartels.
Now Masemola has been summoned to court.
National police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe confirmed that summons were served on the top cop on Wednesday afternoon.
He is expected to appear in court on April 21.
Unisa lecturer in the department of police practice, Prof Dumisani Mabunda, said there had been rumours of Masemola’s imminent arrest after his name kept popping up at the Madlanga commission.
“It is a crisis. There have been rumours of the national commissioner’s imminent arrest, but because he is a strategic person, the arresting agency has to be careful about when and how to effect that arrest. Today, it may effectively mean that he has been arrested.
“But as you know, in the Animal Farm story, some animals are more equal than others ... so the issue of a summons amounts to the arrest of the national commissioner,” he said.
Mabunda said the summons itself highlights the ongoing crises within the police department. “That in itself is a crisis because you have an empty ministerial position, and now the national commissioner has to appear in court on April 21.
“Will he still be leading the police while there is this cloud hanging over his head? We have had a number of previous commissioners who have been in the media for the wrong reasons ... but we know the history of the police has been filled with controversies,” he said.
We are not at all surprised, and it’s the name of the game right now. It’s a crisis, and it just goes to show how seriously compromised our criminal justice system is.
— Wayne Duvenage, Outa
Wayne Duvenage from corruption-fighting group Outa also shared Mabunda’s sentiments.
To Duvenage, this development is not surprising. “I don’t think they [state] would go that far [serving summons to Masemola] without concrete evidence.
“We are not at all surprised, and it’s the name of the game right now. It’s a crisis, and it just goes to show how seriously compromised our criminal justice system is,” Duvenage said.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Sowetan’s sister publication Business Day that an acting appointment may be made by President Cyril Ramaphosa if required, pending the outcome of any legal proceedings and a determination on whether Masemola was involved in wrongdoing.
Law enforcement and crime expert Prof Mpho Matlala said the alleged involvement of Masemola in the awarding of the tender to Matlala may have stemmed from his time before his appointment as commissioner.
“The NPA is not disclosing the contents of the summons in terms of the exact charges but he may have been involved with supply chain processes before he became national commissioner, possibly supply chain processes that would have connected him to this tender [Mediacare24].
“If he was not involved somehow, he would not have been summoned because you only summon an accused person,” said Matlala.
He added that the reason the state had not made public the charges against him was because they wanted to avoid reputational damage.
“They are really extending some professional graces to him as head of the SAPS. So they are trying not to embarrass him,” he said.
I would think how they did it is not necessarily outside the framework of the law. However, in a situation like this, it would appear to members of the public that, oh, this one is being treated specially because he’s the national commissioner.
— Prof Mpho Matlala, policing and crime expert
However, Matlala said, this then presents a problem to the judicial system because it highlights favouritism.
“He should have been arrested and charged with the others, and be granted bail just like the others, so that it becomes very clear that our judicial system treats everybody as equal before the law.
“But of course, I would think how they did it is not necessarily outside the framework of the law. However, in a situation like this, it would appear to members of the public that, oh, this one is being treated specially because he’s the national commissioner,” he said.
Ian Cameron, chairperson of the portfolio committee on police, said he has noted with grave concern the matter of Masemola’s scheduled court appearance.
He said the Madlanga commission has exposed deep-rooted corruption, revealing that senior police officers are colluding with criminal syndicates, causing witnesses to fear for their safety and manipulating procurement processes.
“We are looking forward as the committee to the appearance of the police commissioner before the court on the scheduled time. We wish that all the implicated officers would appear before the court on allegations that have been made public,” said Cameron.
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