Former deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Francinah Vuma has alleged that national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola and former police minister Bheki Cele were central to her “occupational detriment”.
Vuma was testifying before parliament’s ad hoc committee on Wednesday. The committee is investigating allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system.
She was appointed deputy national police commissioner in 2017 but was suspended in 2022. She remained suspended until her retirement in January.
While the official grounds for her suspension involved allegations that she — alongside former national commissioner Gen Khehla Sitole — breached the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) Act by withholding information, Vuma maintains this was a retaliatory move.
At the time, her primary responsibility was investigating senior-ranking officials.
During her testimony, Vuma detailed a culture of political interference.
“My occupational detriment began when I refused to adhere to unlawful instructions from Masemola and Cele,” she said. “I believe my involvement in these investigations, and my determination to proceed despite pressure to abandon them, made me a target for those abusing their authority.”
Vuma alleged that Masemola threatened her with suspension or transfer in 2022 if she did not drop specific cases, claiming he was “under pressure from the top” to have her removed. She provided the committee with a list of suppressed investigations, including:
- irregularities in 2010 procurement of accommodation; and
- emergency PPE procurement that violated National Treasury Instruction No 8 of 2019/20.
Vuma detailed “undue coercion” to procure personal protective equipment (PPE) from specific suppliers during the 2020 state of national disaster. She alleged that Lt-Gen Bonang Mgwenya (then head of human resource management) persistently pushed a list of companies — allegedly provided by Cele — to ensure they received purchase orders without following due process.
I stood my ground and informed minister Cele that I would not fold to his coercion. I told him the due diligence team found his preferred companies didn’t even have enough stock.
— Lt-Gen Francinah Vuma, former deputy national police commissioner
When National Treasury shortlisted companies that did not include Cele’s preferred vendors, Vuma claimed she and others were summoned to Cele’s office and “berated”.
“I stood my ground and informed minister Cele that I would not fold to his coercion. I told him the due diligence team found his preferred companies didn’t even have enough stock,” Vuma testified.
Vuma further implicated Cele in wasteful expenditure regarding the R120m purchase of interception equipment. She alleged the equipment was bought without the required exemption certificates from the department of justice and state security and was never used.
Vuma also noted that when she uncovered irregularities in PPE spending involving the secret service account — implicating Lt-Gen Peter Jacobs — Cele berated her for producing the report.
Vuma’s relationship with Masemola was similarly fraught. She alleged that Masemola warned her to be “careful” of deputy police minister Cassel Mathale, baselessly accusing Mathale of swindling money from an Independent Development Trust project to fund the EFF.
In July 2022, Masemola allegedly ordered Vuma to remove a paragraph from an information note that mentioned she had received a directive from Cele. When she refused, citing a need for honesty, Masemola allegedly told her that her “stubbornness was going to kill” her career. Shortly thereafter, she was summoned to his office to be suspended.
The testimony took a darker turn as Vuma detailed alleged assassination plots. She claimed a whistleblower informed her that after failed attempts to frame her for PPE corruption, certain officials “resorted to the plan that I be killed”. State security officials later interviewed her and recommended state protection.
Vuma also revealed that Masemola attempted to silence her with a retirement package that included a non-disclosure clause and payments extending to September 2024. She rejected the offer, stating: “I am determined, whatever it takes, to clear my name.”
Vuma expressed deep heartbreak over the harassment, noting the emotional and financial toll on her family. She criticised the lack of support from state institutions regarding her protected disclosures.
“The SAPS leadership has collapsed. The president of the republic is urged to seriously investigate the leadership currently heading the SAPS.”
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