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Top cop sucked into Matlala’s R360m health tender scandal
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.is on suspension, and so are Masemola’s deputy Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya and head of organised crime Maj-Gen Richard Shibiri.
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.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.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“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.To Duvenage, this development is not surprising. “I don’t think they would go that far 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.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 [ “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.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.
Presidency Response To Police Crisis NPA Police Summons Mediacare24 Tender Investigation Vusimusi Cat Matlala Arrest Shadrack Sibiya Suspended Vusimusi Cat Matlala Tender Senzo Mchunu Suspension R360m Health Tender Scandal Fannie Masemola Court Summons
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