Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu called it “unfortunate” that National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has been summoned to court over the scrapped R360 million Medicare 24 tender, but stressed it proves no one is above the law.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and South African Police Service (SAPS) confirmed Masemola received the summons. Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia verified on Thursday that Masemola faces charges under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA)—specifically Section 38 on procurement standards for accounting officers—but not corruption.
Cachalia plans to brief President Cyril Ramaphosa amid a potential SAPS crisis. Masemola remains in office pending the president’s decision.”General Masemola has been charged… This concerns the standards that an accounting officer must meet in dealing with procurement decisions,” Cachalia told eNCA.
He noted others implicated face corruption charges: “Being charged under procurement legislation is serious enough.”The summons ties into arrests of 12 senior police officers connected to the Medicare 24 Tshwane District contract and tender figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
Mchunu’s spokesperson, Sthembiso Mshengu, told the Mail & Guardian the arrests are “only the tip of the iceberg,” praising the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC). “We must appreciate the work done by IDAC… whether you are a police officer or a civilian, if you are presumed to have broken the law, you will be brought before the courts.”