Pressure mounts on Ramaphosa to suspend police commissioner

President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing mounting calls from political parties, Parliament and civil society to suspend National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, following his recent court appearance.

The country’s top cop faces four charges under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), linked to a controversial R360 million tender awarded to a company associated with alleged crime figure, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

Masemola is expected to return to the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on 13 May, alongside Matlala and 12 co-accused.

Legal expert, Leo Maphosa, says while public concern is understandable, allegations should not be confused with guilt.

 “The charges under the PFMA are serious, yet they speak as much to questions of oversight within a complex institution as they do to individual culpability. In that sense, this is not a simple story of guilt or innocence, but a more nuanced test of accountability at the highest level of policing,”  he said.

Maphosa cautioned that calls for suspension must be legally justified rather than driven by public pressure.

“Suspension is not merely a symbolic act; it is a legal intervention that must be justified by the need to protect institutional integrity, not to satisfy public sentiment,” he added. 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the law is clear on the President’s powers, pointing to provisions in the SAPS Act that allow for the establishment of a board of inquiry and the suspension of the commissioner pending its outcome.

Meanwhile, the Forum for South Africa (FOSA) has warned that the situation risks damaging the credibility of the police service.

“The image of the head of the police appearing in court while expected to lead the fight against crime erodes public trust and weakens the authority of law enforcement,” the organisation said.

The African National Congress Study Group on Police has also raised concerns, describing the matter as a potential “crisis of command and control.”

It says the prosecution of the National Commissioner could demoralise officers and undermine confidence in policing.

ANC STUDY GROUP ON POLICE CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION TO RESTORE INTEGRITY OF SAPS FOLLOWING CHARGING OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSIONER pic.twitter.com/FisKKX5Me1

— ANC Parliament (@ANCParliament) April 22, 2026

Pressure is continuing to mount on the Presidency to balance due process with maintaining public trust in one of the country’s most critical institutions.

“The President’s role is to calibrate the right kind of action, which may involve initiating formal processes, reinforcing oversight or creating institutional distance without collapsing into premature judgment… The integrity of the police will not be restored by dramatic gestures… it will be restored by demonstrating that accountability can reach the highest office,” said Maphosa.

Masemola is not tainted, let’s get that one right. He has his shortcomings on leadership but certainly no perceptions whatsoever around criminality involvement.

— Moloko (@Molokob) April 21, 2026

Standing with Matlala in the dock is only meant to paint him as that bad cop. He might have failed in his duty to oversee that due process was followed in the awarding of the tender but that doesn’t necessarily make him a hard criminal that Idac wants us to believe he is.

— N.P. Mtimande (@nkosanangwenya) April 21, 2026