Organised crime investigator Chad Thomas says suspended National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola should never have been charged over the SAPS Medicare24 health tender.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has instructed that the charges against Masemola be withdrawn after a review found there were no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution.
Masemola faced four counts of contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in connection with the tender.
Thomas said Masemola was charged on a technical basis because of his position as the head of the South African Police Service, rather than for allegedly being directly involved in the tender process.
“He should never have been charged in the first place. We all said that they tried to charge him in terms of a technicality, in terms of the PFMA, as the apex leader of SAPS,” Thomas said.
He said Masemola was not charged as someone who had been part of the bid or adjudication committees, but was placed alongside individuals who were allegedly linked to the corrupt conduct.
Thomas further claimed that the case had been used to damage Masemola’s reputation and fuel factional tensions within SAPS.
“I’m just glad that this is getting resolved in the correct manner and fashion,” he said.
The NPA said Masemola will appear in court for the formal withdrawal of the charges, while the circumstances surrounding the prosecution will also be reviewed.
Photo: X/ @SAPoliceService
