BACK TO WORK: Vindicated Masemola to return as SAPS boss as Idac clean-up continues

President Cyril Ramaphosa has lifted the precautionary suspension of police commissioner General Fannie Masemola, clearing the way for him to return to the helm of the South African Police Service on Monday, following the withdrawal of criminal charges against him. His suspension stemmed from charges levelled by Idac.

National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola should be back at work on Monday, after President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted his suspension. This came after criminal charges against him were withdrawn.

The president’s decision was announced on Friday, 16 October. It ends a six-month period in which the country’s top police officer was sidelined over allegations linked to a controversial R360-million South African Police Service (SAPS) health-services contract awarded to Medicare24. That company is associated with alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

But Masemola’s return is about more than the restoration of a suspended police chief. Evidence presented at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has raised serious questions about the quality of investigations into senior police officials, the conduct of prosecutors and the accountability of institutions tasked with fighting corruption, particularly the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac).

It also reflects an ongoing shift in power battles within SAPS, with Masemola and his perceived allies now appearing firmly in charge.

Masemola was placed on precautionary suspension on 23 April 2026 after he appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on four counts of contravening the Public Finance Management Act. The charges stemmed from the controversial R360-million SAPS health-services contract awarded to Medicare24.

Masemola was among 13 SAPS officials charged in connection with the contract. Ramaphosa appointed SAPS chief financial officer Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane to act in his place.

Masemola maintained his innocence, telling journalists outside court on 21 April: “I know that I am not guilty, I am not wrong.”

On 15 September, National Director of Public Prosecutions Andy Mothibi ordered the withdrawal of the charges , with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) citing no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution.