By Johnathan Paoli
South Africa’s national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, has confirmed that a R360-million contract awarded to a health company linked to businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala is under forensic investigation after SAPS internal auditors flagged corruption risks, misrepresentation, and fronting.
Testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on corruption in the criminal justice system, Masemola said the Medicare24 tender followed standard supply chain processes, including consideration by the bid specification, evaluation, and adjudication committees.
“The supply chain divisional commissioner signs off — it doesn’t land on my desk,” he told MPs.
Masemola said the contract, awarded in June 2024, was meant to provide medical services for SAPS members and new recruits. Then-police minister Bheki Cele was in office at the time.
However, concerns arose almost immediately. Masemola recalled receiving a call from the Independent Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) warning that Medicare24 lacked a tax clearance certificate and had previously been involved in controversies linked to the Tembisa Hospital saga.
Supply chain officials, he said, assured him that the company had submitted all required documentation and was not blacklisted by National Treasury, making it eligible to bid.
Still, alarm bells rang when Masemola later discovered that the company was linked to Matlala, already under scrutiny for alleged irregular state contracts.
In December 2024, newly appointed police minister Senzo Mchunu raised further concerns about the deal. On Christmas Eve, Masemola and Mchunu held a virtual meeting to discuss the issue, after which Masemola instructed SAPS Internal Audit and Risk Management to probe the entire contract.
“An internal audit highlighted several red flags — including misrepresentation of facts, fronting, and exposure to corruption risk,” Masemola told the inquiry.
By January 2025, SAPS had already paid Medicare24 R50 million for services rendered, including the processing of student recruits at police colleges. On 24 March, Masemola wrote to the company demanding reasons why the contract should not be terminated. A month later, a final audit confirmed misconduct, prompting SAPS to cancel the tender.
Masemola said the contract is now being readvertised, while a forensic investigation nears completion. Disciplinary steps are expected against officials implicated in the irregular award.
He insisted he had no prior knowledge of Matlala, despite media reports linking the businessman to the controversial contract.
The revelation adds a new twist to the parliamentary inquiry, where earlier testimony suggested that Mchunu’s disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) may have been linked to efforts to shield investigations tied to Matlala.
The Medicare24 saga has further exposed weaknesses in SAPS procurement systems, long plagued by allegations of corruption and political interference.
Masemola warned that fronting and falsification of documents in major contracts threaten the credibility of the police service.
As the inquiry resumes on Friday, MPs are expected to press Masemola on whether the PKTT disbandment and the Medicare24 scandal form part of a broader web of political manipulation within SAPS.
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