Prosecutors Drop Case Against Suspended Police Chief

The National Director of Public Prosecutions, Andy Mothibi, on Tuesday ordered the withdrawal of criminal charges against General Fannie Masemola, South Africa’s suspended national police commissioner, after prosecutors concluded there were “no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution” against him.

The decision raises questions about how the case was assessed in the first place and what now happens to the office-holder at the centre of it. Mothibi reviewed evidence gathered by the Independent Directorate Against Corruption before ordering the withdrawal. He framed the move in terms of prosecutorial standards, saying that pursuing a case without sufficient evidence was not in the public interest.

But the withdrawal does not close the matter for the prosecution service itself. Mothibi said prosecutors will investigate the circumstances surrounding the decision to charge Masemola, to establish whether there was any misconduct in the assessment of the evidence and in the application of the law. That internal review places the accountability question squarely within the National Prosecuting Authority, which must now examine how its own processes produced a case it has since judged unsustainable.

Masemola, 62, was charged in April with failing in his duties to provide proper oversight in his role, in connection with a health contract that became the subject of a criminal investigation. He denied the charges. The accusation centred on allegations that he failed to act on fraud warnings in the awarding of a controversial $21m (£15.5m) health tender, which was later cancelled. The contract was intended to provide health services to the police.

The charges triggered action at the highest level of the executive. President Cyril Ramaphosa placed Masemola on precautionary suspension while the criminal case was underway. With the prosecution now withdrawn, the presidency has not yet announced whether the suspended commissioner will return to office. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has welcomed the prosecutors’ decision and said Masemola and the president would meet over what happens next, leaving the formal resolution of his status as an open question for the executive.

Meanwhile, accountability proceedings around the tender continue. A dozen senior police officers have been formally charged over their role in awarding the contract. The allegations emerged at a national inquiry examining corruption involving police officers and politicians.

That inquiry, known as the Madlanga Commission, was set up by President Ramaphosa last September to look into corruption in the police force. It was prompted by allegations made the previous year by Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, a provincial police chief, that organised crime groups had penetrated the upper echelons of government.

Masemola will still have to appear in court for the charges to be formally withdrawn, meaning the legal file remains open until a judicial officer records the discontinuation.

The episode also sits within a longer institutional pattern. Masemola is the third police chief to face a criminal investigation while in office. Jackie Selebi, the country’s longest-serving police boss, was sentenced in 2010 to 15 years in prison after being convicted of taking bribes from an Italian drug lord, Glen Agliotti, in exchange for turning a blind eye to his criminal activity. In 2017, Khomotso Phahlane was charged with corruption. Those charges were withdrawn the next year, but he was arrested again on similar charges in 2019, which he denies.

For now, the immediate decisions rest with two institutions: the National Prosecuting Authority, which must account for how the case against Masemola was brought and assessed, and the presidency, which must decide the suspended commissioner’s fate. Further background on the case is available via the BBC’s reporting at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6kgwyy0vnwvo.