By Everson Luhanga
- Ian Cameron says crime hit South Africans need clear police leadership, and the President must suspend General Fannie Masemola without further delay.
- He says both political and administrative police leadership are compromised, and warns that weak action will deepen the crisis inside SAPS.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on police chair Ian Cameron wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola after his court appearance on Tuesday.
Masemola appeared at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning. The court postponed his case to 13 May.
Masemola will join businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and 15 others. They are all linked to a R360 million police health services tender.
He faces charges linked to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). This law controls how public money must be used.
Speaking outside court, Masemola denied wrongdoing.
“I have not done corruption. I have been charged with PFMA. I don’t know why,” he said.
Cameron said this is not a finding of guilt. But the SAPS cannot take more damage while serious questions hang over its top leadership.
“The continued hesitation to act decisively is no longer tenable. At a time when South Africans are under siege from crime, uncertainty at the very top of SAPS is unacceptable,” he said.
Cameron said the President must suspend Masemola and appoint a credible acting national commissioner straight away.
He said the crisis goes beyond one person. According to Cameron, both the executive and administrative leadership of SAPS are now badly compromised.
“This is not a routine matter, it is a full blown leadership crisis in an institution already struggling to meet its most basic mandate,” Cameron said.
Cameron also said the allegations and counter allegations now coming out point to a deeper problem inside the police service. He said public trust falls when police leaders are caught up in controversy.
He repeated the committee’s call for urgent lifestyle audits across SAPS, adding that accountability, transparency and public trust can no longer be treated as optional.
Cameron said any acting appointment must be someone with unquestioned integrity. He said that person must not be linked to ongoing investigations, including matters before the Madlanga Commission and the ad hoc committee.
He said failing to act now will not be neutral, adding that it will amount to complicity in SAPS’s decline.
Pictured above: Portfolio committee on police chairperson Ian Cameron urges Ramaphosa to suspend SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola after his court appearance on Tuesday.
Image source: Ian Cameron/Facebook page
