Masemola hits out at smear campaign, says false media reports aimed to destroy him

By Johnathan Paoli

National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola on Thursday accused a “certain politician” and sections of the media of running a deliberate campaign of falsehoods designed to discredit him, telling Parliament that fabricated reports of his arrest were part of an orchestrated effort to undermine his leadership at a time when the police service is under intense scrutiny.

Appearing before the ad hoc parliamentary committee probing corruption and interference in the criminal justice system, Masemola told evidence leader Norman Arendse SC that a string of damaging stories published earlier this year were not inadvertent errors but targeted attacks with a clear intent.

“In June, it was reported that IDAC issued a warrant for my arrest and that I was in my office shivering with fear. This never happened. A month later, a similar story appeared. The story was dispelled eventually by the head of IDAC. I have no