Welcoming Withdrawal of Charges Against National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola

JOHANNESBURG | 15 September 2026 — Public Interest SA welcomes the decision by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Andy Mothibi, to direct that the criminal charges against South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola be withdrawn.

The decision follows a review by the NDPP of the charges brought against General Masemola arising from alleged contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the review considered the evidence gathered by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), a report of the Case Assessment Panel, and a report by independent Senior Counsel.

Critically, the NDPP concluded that there are no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution against General Masemola on the PFMA charges. The NDPP has accordingly instructed that the charges be withdrawn, with arrangements to be made with General Masemola’s legal representatives for his appearance in court for the formal withdrawal of the case.

Public Interest SA regards this outcome as a significant vindication of concerns surrounding the decision to charge and arrest the National Commissioner in the first place.

The NPA’s decision also comes against the backdrop of evidence heard before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, including testimony by former IDAC head Advocate Andrea Johnson concerning the handling and assessment of the matter. These developments raised serious questions about how a prosecution of such consequence against the country’s National Police Commissioner came to be instituted.

The NPA has now itself acknowledged that pursuing a prosecution where the evidence is insufficient to sustain a successful prosecution, and where material exculpatory considerations are omitted, is inconsistent with its mandate and the public interest.

Public Interest SA therefore welcomes the NDPP’s further decision to refer the matter to the IDAC Oversight Judge and to make available the Case Assessment Panel report for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the prosecution team’s assessment of the evidence, the enrolment of the case and the application of the law, including whether any misconduct occurred.

Public Interest SA Chairperson Tebogo Khaas said:

“The withdrawal of these charges cannot simply mark the end of the Masemola saga. It must mark the beginning of a thorough accountability process. The NPA has concluded that there were no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution and has raised, in its own statement, the omission of material exculpatory considerations. Those are profoundly serious findings when the person arrested and placed before a criminal court is the National Commissioner of Police.”

Khaas said every person who may have played an improper role in the investigation, assessment, authorisation or enrolment of the matter should be held accountable should the Oversight Judge’s investigation establish misconduct.

“No official within our criminal justice system should be able to weaponise the enormous powers of the state against another person without consequence. If the investigation establishes that anyone acted improperly, maliciously or in abuse of public power, accountability must follow — irrespective of rank, position or institutional affiliation.”

Public Interest SA is particularly concerned about the broader implications of the episode for the integrity and independence of South Africa’s criminal justice institutions.

The powers to investigate, arrest and prosecute are among the most coercive powers entrusted to the state. They must always be exercised lawfully, independently and on the strength of credible evidence — never to settle scores, advance institutional agendas, embarrass public officials or interfere with the proper discharge of their constitutional responsibilities.

“South Africa came perilously close to a situation in which important components of the criminal justice system could have been compromised by forces acting contrary to their constitutional purpose. That prospect should concern every South African, regardless of their views about the personalities involved,” Khaas said.

Public Interest SA further acknowledges the courageous role played by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and other ethical men and women within law-enforcement institutions who have brought allegations of wrongdoing and institutional manipulation into the public domain.

Their disclosures, and the subsequent scrutiny before the Madlanga Commission, have demonstrated once again why ethical leadership, whistleblowing and institutional accountability are indispensable safeguards against the capture or abuse of public institutions.

“We owe an enormous debt to those men and women who, often at great personal and professional risk, refuse to remain silent when they encounter wrongdoing. General Mkhwanazi’s disclosures helped lift the lid on allegations that demand the most rigorous scrutiny. South Africa must ensure that those who speak up in defence of constitutional institutions are protected rather than punished.”

Public Interest SA commends Advocate Mothibi for exercising the NDPP’s constitutional and statutory authority to review the prosecution and for subjecting the matter to an evidence-based assessment.

The organisation also welcomes the NPA’s announcement that the assessment and review of IDAC cases will continue as part of the IDAC Reset Programme. Public confidence requires assurance that every prosecution undertaken in the name of the people of South Africa meets the requisite evidential, legal and ethical standards.

The withdrawal of the charges against General Masemola should therefore not close the book on this episode.

There must now be a full accounting of how it happened, why it happened, who was responsible, and what safeguards will be instituted to ensure that it can never happen again.

ENDS