Policing union urges President Ramaphosa to reinstate Fannie Masemola
Six months ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa stood at the Union Buildings and told South Africans that the man who leads the fight against crime would step aside while the courts weighed charges against him. Today, that suspension is over. General Fannie Masemola returns to the South African Police Service on Monday.
Folks, the question hanging over this reinstatement is not whether he comes back – it is what the last six months cost, and what the record actually shows.
Johannesburg, South Africa – 16 October 2026 – President Cyril Ramaphosa uplifted the precautionary suspension of National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola on Friday, and Masemola will resume his full duties on Monday 19 October 2026. The charges against him were withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority in September.
Ramaphosa and Masemola agreed in April 2026 that the National Commissioner be deemed to be on precautionary suspension, following his appearance in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court to face charges under the Public Finance Management Act.
The suspension was announced on Thursday 23 April 2026 at the Union Buildings, where the President was joined by Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia and his two deputies, Cassel Mathale and Polly Boshielo.
Ramaphosa framed the decision in the language of accountability.
The pressure to reinstate built steadily after the withdrawal. The South African Communist Party called for Masemola’s immediate return, saying it saw the charges as concocted: “From the outset, the SACP saw the charges as concocted, given the challenges of capture within our law enforcement authorities,” said Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo.
The South African Police Union demanded Ramaphosa act at once.
On Monday, General Fannie Masemola walks back into the office of National Commissioner of the South African Police Service. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia welcomed the prosecutor’s decision in September and said he had always believed it was unjust for the police chief to face criminal prosecution.