By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry questioned former IDAC head Andrea Johnson over why suspended National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola was charged alongside fraud accused in the R360 million Medicare24 tender case.
Commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga suggested the move may have unfairly damaged his reputation and exceeded the anti-corruption unit’s legal mandate.
Masemola is charged with four counts of contravening the PFMA in connection with the Medicare24 Tshwane District SAPS health services tender.
The charges stem from Masemola’s role as the accounting officer of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
IDAC alleges that after being alerted to irregularities in the procurement process, he failed to act, allowing further payments to be made before the contract was eventually stopped.
Defending the charges before the Commission, Johnson argued that the PFMA offences flowed from the broader corruption, commercial and financial crimes allegedly committed in the awarding of the tender.
She told the Commission that senior SAPS officials had alerted Masemola to unlawful conduct surrounding the contract and urged him to intervene.
“It was brought to his attention because he is the accounting officer. Had he acted, then the perpetuation of this unlawful corruption, commercial and financial crimes would not have taken place.”
Johnson stressed that IDAC is not accusing Masemola of participating in corruption.
“We never said that he was party to the corruption, but he is being charged then for the PFMA arising out of those matters that he had become aware of and that we say he then did not stop.”
Justice Madlanga, however, was unconvinced.
“That’s a valiant attempt, but I do not think it takes you to a pass mark.”
The Chair challenged IDAC’s interpretation of its statutory mandate, using a hypothetical example in which every other accused in the Medicare24 matter had fallen away, leaving Masemola facing only PFMA charges.
Masemola is charged alongside 16 co-accused, including Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who face charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
Johnson maintained that Masemola failed to stop the contract in time.
The commission also put Johnson under intense questioning over a controversial restriction preventing Crime Intelligence head, General Dumisani Khumalo and other officials, from entering Crime Intelligence offices anywhere in the country.
The commission heard that Khumalo and his six co-accused were subjected to the restriction as part of their bail conditions after being arrested on fraud and corruption charges in June last year.
It further heard that the restriction did not form part of the prosecution’s bail order, raising questions about where it originated.
Johnson insists she understood the restriction to apply only to Crime Intelligence headquarters.
In a ruling that will set a precedent for any other witness that claims to be too sick to testify, Justice Madlanga ordered the controversial businessman Suliman Carrim to undergo an independent medical examination that confirms he’s unable to testify – if he wants to avoid giving evidence.
Carrim is expected to give his testimony on the 14th of August 2026.
He said Carrim will only be excused if he undergoes an independent medical examination, with a report submitted to the commission by the 12 August confirming whether he is fit to testify. He has missed several scheduled appearances before the commission, citing an undisclosed illness.
The commission has postponed Carrim’s testimony several times after he was admitted to hospital in April following a suspected heart attack.