While there have been calls from the Democratic Alliance for Ramaphosa to suspend Masemola, he has not done so yet.<\/p>\n
This week, the Independent Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) arrested 12 police officers implicated in the award of a R360-million police health contract to alleged crime kingpin Vusimusi \u201cCat\u201d Matlala\u2019s company, Medicare 24 Tshwane District.<\/p>\n
The arrests form part of a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that a criminal cartel has infiltrated the country\u2019s policing networks.<\/p>\n
Masemola has been summoned to appear in court related to the matter on 21 April. It is unclear at this point what exactly the evidence or charges against him are. Masemola acknowledged \u201cred flags\u201d around the contract but maintained he did not receive any money from it.<\/p>\n
Masemola, as the police\u2019s accounting officer, appears likely to face charges related to the Public Finance Management Act for allegedly not acting quickly enough to intervene in the contract despite warnings.<\/p>\n
![\"sune-cachalia-saps<br>\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ED_560834_920191.jpg\" "\\"National")
National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola faces charges related to Vusimuzi \u2018Cat\u2019 Matlala\u2019s R360-million police tender. (Photo: Gallo Images \/ Frennie Shivambu) Ball in Ramaphosa\u2019s court<\/p>\n
On Friday, 27 March 2026, Cachalia told journalists in Parliament he had briefed Ramaphosa and Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi about the unfolding situation. He\u2019d also spoken to Masemola himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke with him because you know, when you\u2019ve worked with somebody for a few months, you build a relationship\u2026 To be frank, this turn of events is also upsetting for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the fact of the matter is that accountability is what\u2019s most important, so we’ll have to see what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cachalia is busy providing a response to Ramaphosa about the situation. He did not clarify when this would be handed over, or what recommendations he\u2019ll make to the president. <\/p>\n
![\"sune-N2-wall-update\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ED_585332_141519.jpg\" "\\"Minister")
Minister Firoz Cachalia testifies at the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee inquiry into alleged corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system at Good Hope Chambers on 5 November 2025 in Cape Town. (Photo: Gallo Images \/ Brenton Geach) <\/p>\n
The DA\u2019s spokesperson on policing, Lisa Schickerling, said: \u201cWe call for Masemola to be placed on precautionary suspension, as he did with General Shadrack Sibiya, while this matter is in court.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMasemola\u2019s arrest is not the first of its kind since two previous predecessors faced the same fate. This latest development strikes at the heart of public trust in the South African Police Service.\u201d<\/p>\n
Masemola\u2019s deputy, Sibiya, is also on suspension, stemming from allegations that he too is associated with criminal behaviour linked to Matlala. <\/p>\n
Ramaphosa\u2019s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya would not be drawn on speculation about Masemola\u2019s possible suspension. <\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Ramaphosa will be addressing the matter concerning General Masemola in accordance with the law,\u201d he told Daily Maverick. <\/p>\n
Legal and policing experts have argued<\/a> that Ramaphosa is under no obligation to suspend the police commissioner while he remains innocent until proven guilty. Others claim<\/a> that the apparent nature of the charges aren\u2019t as serious as corruption charges, but the president could still take action. <\/p>\n Arrests are a \u2018positive thing\u2019<\/p>\n Daily Maverick asked Cachalia if he thought the arrests of police officers impacted communities\u2019 trust in policing, especially as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were being deployed to assist police in the fight against gang violence and illegal mining.<\/p>\n \u201cSo one part of the crisis is that there are senior police officers who are criminals who have relationships with cartel bosses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the challenge is to root out corruption, to restore integrity across the board with particularly the top leadership of the South African Police Service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we are, we are travelling that road, action is being taken.\u201d<\/p>\n Cachalia spoke about the first recommendation of the Madlanga Commission, where 14 officers across law enforcement and SAPS were referred to for further investigation. In January, Ramaphosa ordered Cachalia and Masemola to establish a <\/a>special investigations task team<\/a> to institute investigations against people identified by the commission for investigation. Charges potentially include fraud and corruption.<\/p>\n The leader of that task team would report to Masemola.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were all immediately suspended \u2013 they are being investigated,\u201d said Cachalia.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that has created the space for Idac to do its work.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe arrest of officers who were apparently involved in a criminal conspiracy together with Cat Matlala, that\u2019s a positive thing. It\u2019s an indication that we\u2019re beginning to take the right steps,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we take these steps, when we identify rotten eggs in the system, it causes anxiety, even as it\u2019s an indication, in fact, that the necessary kind of action is taken,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI make the same point about the Madlanga Commission. When the Madlanga Commission was appointed, many people criticised the president. They took the view that commissions are a waste of time, that the president was just kicking the can down the road.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is that the Madlanga Commission is helping us as a society understand the depth of the problems because they are serious, they are deep, and I think it\u2019s creating the possibility for what I\u2019ve called a reset agenda,\u201d Cachalia said.<\/p>\n \u201cA reset agenda is by recognising exactly where we are… understanding what needs to be done and then collectively our people to get together working with their representatives, their political leadership to change the picture.\u201d<\/p>\n Questions over future of the police<\/p>\n The acting police minister said the matter raises questions over the future of the police. <\/p>\n \u201cSo the question, I think, we now face is what kind of police service do we want to build in the next 10 years? We\u2019ve had 30 years. We\u2019ve made some progress in many areas. In other areas, we\u2019ve made big mistakes. In other areas, we\u2019ve fallen short.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that what\u2019s very important for society to make progress is that it must always have the ability to recognise its problems, think about them, understand what needs to be done, and then put our energies behind reform, behind change, and I have to be hopeful.\u201d DM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia says President Cyril Ramaphosa will \u201cknow what needs to be done\u201d, following the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[16112,81853,23450,2311,4735,17497,131,31655,29606],"class_list":{"0":"post-158917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-ad-hoc-committee","9":"tag-fanie-masemola","10":"tag-firoz-cachalia","11":"tag-madlanga-commission","12":"tag-parliament","13":"tag-policing","14":"tag-south-africa","15":"tag-sune-payne","16":"tag-vusimusi-cat-matlala"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116308574651257342","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}