‘Police boss Masemola has a case to answer’

National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola had an obligation as a manager to check that his staff did their job properly in awarding a R360m tender to Vusumusi “Cat” Matlala’s company.

This is according to constitutional law expert Dr Llewelyn Curlewis of the Unversity of Pretoria, who told Sowetan that while the state has a difficult case to prove, Masemola has a case to answer.

“Remember, this is not one of those cases where intention is the required form of guilt; mere negligence suffices for a conviction,” he said.

Masemola appeared at the Pretoria magistrate’s court on Tuesday on charges related to the tender awarded to Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane.

The tender was later flagged and cancelled but not before the police had already paid R50m to Matlala.

Masemola was formally charged yesterday with four counts of contravening the Public Finance Management Act.

“I stopped the contract, so I don’t know why I should be here.” — Gen Fannie Masemola

It is alleged that Masemola failed in his capacity as the police service’s accounting officer to take appropriate steps to ensure that it did not incur wasteful expenditure. He is also accused of failing to screen the company before it was awarded the tender and also not taking disciplinary steps against police officers who awarded it.

Curlewis said the state’s case does not mean that Masemola should have scrutinised the tender himself.

“He has personnel in his office who advise him,” Curlewis said. “Overall he should have raised questions and seen to it that they did their job. From a managerial perspective he had an obligation to check that his personnel did their job properly.”

In court, the Investigative Directorate Against Corruption’s prosecutor Adv Santhos Manilall told magistrate Johannes Kruger that Masemola’s case will be joined to that of Matlala and others at his next court appearance.

“The state will need to amend the charge sheet to the effect of the accused’s involvement. The charge sheet will be provided to the accused in the next court appearance,” Manilall said.

Ulrich Roux, founder of law firm Ulrich Roux and Associates, shared Curlewis’s sentiments that Masemola has a case to answer to.

“One can now expect the state to back up those charges with the relevant evidence, which supports the allegations,” he said.

“Once evidence is led during trial, then one can say whether the state has a watertight case or not.”

Curlewis said the state might call officers who signed off on the tenders as witnesses to establish whether Masemola was alerted to any problems.

Speaking outside court, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told reporters the state has a watertight case.

Masemola has maintained his innocence.

“I did what I was supposed to do. I stopped the contract, so I don’t know why I should be here,” he said.

Following Masemola’s appearance, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told Sowetan the president is attending to the matter of whether Masemola should be suspended.

Masemola is expected back in court with Matlala and other senior officers linked to the awarding of the tender on May 13.

Sowetan