The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), through its Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) team, has strongly pushed back against claims that it is deliberately targeting senior members of the SAPS.

This response follows sharp criticism from the South African Policing Union (SAPU) regarding the manner in which IDAC executed the arrests of 12 senior SAPS officials on March 24.

The officials are implicated in a controversial R360-million tender awarded to Medicare 24 Tshwane District, a company owned by Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, who is also among the accused.

SAPU raised concerns that the arrests appeared to be aimed more at embarrassing the officers than ensuring accountability. This prompted IDAC to clarify the legal and procedural basis of its actions.

IDAC spokesperson Henry Mathomane dismissed the narrative circulating on social media that the arrests were selectively motivated, calling it both incorrect and harmful.

He explained that the case did not originate from external commissions but was formally referred to IDAC in 2024 after SAPS’s own Risk Audit Unit identified suspected irregularities in the tender process.
Investigations were subsequently conducted based on this referral.

“It is irresponsible and reckless for individuals and organisations to claim that the arrests were influenced by proceedings at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry or Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations made by the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner in June 2025,” said Mathomane.

He emphasised that while IDAC respects these bodies, its actions in this matter were independent of those processes.

According to Mathomane, such claims risk creating division within law enforcement at a time when co-operation is needed to combat corruption.

He warned that these narratives could undermine public trust and even endanger officials working on complex cases.

“These attacks and baseless speculations also have the potential to place the lives of the officials working on these complex cases, as well as the investigating director and their families, at risk,” he said.

Mathomane further stressed that IDAC operates within strict legal parameters and is subject to oversight.

He reiterated that the unit is not a law unto itself, as has been suggested in some quarters.

“A judge was appointed to oversee and ensure compliance and accountability in how the division operates. This also affords every member of society a platform to report any improper action by any official within the division, including the Investigating Director,” he said.

He maintained that all actions taken in the Medicare 24 Tshwane District case, including the arrests, followed due legal process and were based on available evidence.

“The arrests were based on the evidence at hand. No rules were flouted in bringing the accused before court.”

Mathomane said IDAC can only act on matters within its scope and the evidence before it, addressing criticism that others have not been charged.

He noted that issues involving other persons emerged during the commission of inquiry and would be pursued if formally referred.

He reiterated that the directorate remains committed to acting without fear, favour or prejudice and urged the public to allow the judicial process to unfold.

“The IDAC calls on all South Africans to allow the law to take its course and to follow all court processes, where all evidence relating to the Medicare 24 case and other cases within its radar will be ventilated,” added Mathomane.

While IDAC maintained that it acted within the law, SAPU’s Lesiba Thobakgale criticised how the arrests were carried out, saying they appeared designed to humiliate the officers rather than simply secure their attendance in court.

“The SAPU condemns the manner in which IDAC has conducted the arrests of the 12 SAPS members,” said Thobakgale.

He pointed to previous arrests in 2025 involving crime intelligence head Lieutenant-General Khumalo, arguing that a similar pattern of public embarrassment had emerged.

He emphasised that the purpose of an arrest is to ensure court attendance, not to embarrass or punish anyone.

Thobakgale further argued that the officers were not flight risks, noting that their residential and work addresses are known.

He criticised the decision to detain them overnight instead of charging them and presenting them in court on the same day, a practice he claimed is often applied to politicians.

“It is unfortunate that there is no consistency when arrests are effected on police officers compared to when politicians are presented before the courts,” he said.

While reaffirming SAPU’s support for the rule of law and the presumption of innocence, Thobakgale cautioned that investigators should be judged by successful convictions rather than high-profile arrests.

“A good investigator is determined through the convictions we see ultimately in court, not through arrests made with media buzz behind them,” he said.

Despite these criticisms, the 12 officers implicated in the Medicare 24 Tshwane District tender were granted bail on March 25, allowing them to await further proceedings outside of custody.

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