NPA drops charges against suspended top cop Masemola
The police union calls the case a political hit that risked national security, while the NPA says prosecution policy was not followed.
Suspended National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola wants to go back to work after the National Prosecuting Authority formally withdrew the charges against him.
Masemola was suspended after being accused of failing to provide oversight in a multi-million rand health contract involving alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala. On Tuesday the NPA confirmed the charges had been withdrawn.
“It has been a very difficult moment in life,” Masemola said. He thanked those who had prayed for him and described the period as a tough journey and a lesson. He said he was eager to serve the country again but would wait for his employer, and that he had not had any discussion with the president, who he noted is unwell.
NPA spokesperson Kaiser Kganyago said the National Director of Public Prosecutions had to intervene because processes had not been followed according to NPA policy. He said the prosecution policy requires prima facie evidence that, looked at on face value, would warrant a successful prosecution. The NDPP then put together a panel to examine the matter and that panel’s decision is final.
Kganyago said the file and the panel’s report have been sent to the judge heading the Investigating Directorate, Judge Rowinga, to check whether anything untoward occurred. He said that is part of the accountability process and that the judge can determine whether any misconduct took place.
The South African Police Union said it feels vindicated. Its spokesperson said the union had said from the outset that the charges against Masemola would not stick, and described the case as an attack on national security. The union said questions remain about what those who brought the charges hoped to achieve.
Separately, the wife of Vusimuzi Matlala, Takane, has been arrested. eNCA (YouTube) reports that the arrest relates to a controversial lease agreement for a multi-million rand mansion in the Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof, and that four people have been implicated in falsifying documents to obtain a lease for Matlala and his wife in an estate property where the rent was about R95 000.
Matlala is being held at the Kgosi Mampuru prison, where he has been for about a year after being denied bail in relation to charges including fraud, corruption and attempted murder. One reason for the bail refusal was an alleged fake Eswatini identity document that led him to be deemed a flight risk. His wife is accused of using that document to secure the lease, along with allegedly falsified bank statements. The political killings task team is understood to have made the arrest, and Matlala is to be served with a J50 warrant of arrest from behind bars.
Source: eNCA (YouTube), eNCA News Bite | Shadrack Sibiya In Court, Masemola Charges Dropped and Medicine Shortages | 22 September 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35r2Z8X63Q4
