By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Lieutenant General Molefe Fani, the South African Police Service’s (SAPS’s) divisional commissioner of supply chain management, testified before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Thursday, 20 November 2025.
The committee is investigating accusations that a cartel – involved in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, contract killings and tender fraud – infiltrated the country’s law enforcement and politics.
Among those at the centre of this scandal is Vusimuzi Matlala, who faces accusations that he is part of a cartel and has had corrupt relations with people linked to policing.
Last year, SAPS awarded a company of Matlala’s, Medicare 24 Tshwane District (Pty) Ltd, a R360-million contract. It was later cancelled.
This was largely the focus of Thursday’s ad hoc proceedings.
Fani explained how tenders were awarded.
This process included a bid evaluation committee having to ensure that suppliers complied with criteria, “issues of tax compliance need to be taken into [account]”, and relevant documents needed to be properly completed.
The bid evaluation committee then provided a recommendation that went to a bid adjudication committee.
Fani headed the adjudication committee. This is where things turn to Matlala.
He said that Matlala’s Medicare 24 was among the 22 bids received.
In April 2024, a report recommending the company was compiled, and a couple of months later, in June, Medicare 24 was awarded the contract.
In December last year, News24 published an article about Matlala, headlined, Police award R360m contract to Tembisa Hospital tender don.
Gauteng’s Tembisa Hospital came under scrutiny.
This broader scandal involves a murder – Babita Deokaran was fatally shot outside her home in August 2021, after she reported a series of fraudulent transactions at the hospital. Matlala’s name has also surfaced in this arena.
Fani testified that after the media article, the police minister at the time, Senzo Mchunu, called several officials to a meeting.
According to Fani, Mchunu had instructed that the contract be audited internally. He was “uncomfortable” with the allegations surrounding the contract as it “may bring the organisation [SAPS] into disrepute”.
MPs heard that a 2024/2025 internal audit report “observed flags and/or evidence of fronting in the bid of Medicare 24 Tshwane District”.
This report stated: “It is alleged that the Bidder committed an unethical conduct in respect of the procurement process in another organs of state, i.e. Gauteng Provincial Government at Tembisa Hospital (There were allegations of … procurement irregularities committed by the Director of Medicare24 Tshwane District prior to the evaluation of the bid).
“The [bid evaluation committee] should have taken into consideration the allegations raised in the Media about the director to inform their due diligence methodology. The due diligence did not ascertain all facts concerning the Bidder, resulting in a material control weakness.”
Fani responded to this on Thursday by saying he “would not say there was a lack of due diligence done”.
He made it clear that procurement processes did not detect corruption.
At another point on Thursday, he said he was not involved in the eventual scrapping of the contract: It is my understanding that internal audit and legal worked on the cancellation”.
Fani later added that in his career of about three decades, the Matlala contract was the only one that had been cancelled, which he found to be “a serious concern”.
The hearings continues, next week, the committee will hear evidence from Matlala – straight from the Kgosi Mampuru prison in Tshwane. Matlala is accused of ties to syndicates sabotaging units like the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) while profiting from police contracts.