The Public Protector has been requested to probe President Cyril Ramaphosa, national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola and former minister of police, Bheki Cele. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)
Prominent community activist Elias Muller has asked the Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) to probe President Cyril Ramaphosa after Ramaphosa rejected Muller’s request to the presidency to investigate a complaint the claims that the South African Police Service national commissioner General Masemola feared being targeted and replaced by former police minister Bheki Cele.
The request for the PPSA followed the Sunday Independent report, which revealed that Ramaphosa would not appoint a board of inquiry into serious allegations of sabotage after former high-ranking police member Patricia Mashale made damning allegations against the South African Police Service (SAPS) Commissioner General Fanie Masemola.
Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said at the time that the president would not establish the board of inquiry based on social media posts.
On December 18, Muller wrote to advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, asking her office to probe whether the president did not violate the law when, through his spokesperson, he rejected investigating the claims made between Masemila and Cele.
“I find it astonishing that the Presidency failed to acknowledge or respond to my request to investigate serious allegations against Gen Masemola. The Presidency ignored the seriousness of the accusations against Gen Masemola by not appointing a Board of Inquiry to examine them.
“I request your esteemed office to investigate the issues that I had asked President Ramaphosa to examine through the appointment of a Board of Inquiry, and therefore request not to repeat them but instead refer to the email that I submitted to the Presidency that was directed to Hon President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Muller sought that the investigation include whether Ramaphosa breached his duties or was derelict when he failed to appoint a Board of Inquiry to investigate serious allegations against Gen Masemola.
Muller also claimed that Mashale informed him she was willing to cooperate and share information and evidence in her possession with the PPSA.
The PPSA did not respond by the time of this publication.
In her Facebook and X posts, Mashale alleged that Masemola targeted certain top officials, including former police Minister Bheki Cele, as he feared Cele might remove him from his prominent position and replace him with Masemola’s deputy.
She also said that Masemola arranged a meeting between herself and a trusted confidant of him to meet Mashale at a guest house in Brandwag, Bloemfontein.
Her protector from counterintelligence was present at the meeting, where they discussed, among other issues, to investigate the Cele and vet all Deputy National Commissioners, Provincial Commissioners, and Heads of Components as Provincial Commissioners.
The national spokesperson for the police, Athlenda Mathe, said earlier this month that she would not comment on the matter because there was no evidence backing up the claims.
Cele also did not comment on questions sent to him by the Sunday Independent.
In her Facebook post, Mashale alleged that veteran violence monitor Mary de Haas was aware of Masemola’s fears, adding that he also communicated with De Haas regarding his protection.
Approached for comment, De Haas stated that she was aware of contacts between Mashale and Masemola.
“He was concerned about his safety and feared that his office was bugged. He had sent a trusted associate to meet with Patricia in Bloemfontein, and I had personally written to Ramaphosa about Cele’s reported intentions.
“There are also other police who know what is going on and are very concerned about what happens in management circles, who also leak information because both Patricia and have been working with, and assisting, good police members for many years, and are widely trusted,” she said.
She said that she wrote to the police Portfolio Committee explaining the developments around Mashale and Masemola.
She argued Mashale was being targeted with court actions by senior police members in an effort to prevent her from speaking.
Without progress from the lawmakers, De Haas alleged she had been begging Parliament to hold the police to account, but nothing has been done, adding this could be the reason Mashale lost patience and posted the allegations on social media.
In November, Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya obtained an interim order barring Mashale from publishing defamatory statements accusing him of corruption.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za