South African anti-corruption investigators have arrested 12 senior officers of the South African Police Service over allegations of corruption and fraud, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The officers appeared in court later the same day in Pretoria as investigations continue into alleged corruption within the country’s police leadership.
The arrests come amid an ongoing inquiry into high-level corruption in the police service. The investigation was ordered by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who previously suspended the police minister as part of efforts to address the allegations.
In addition to the presidential probe, Parliament of South Africa is conducting a separate inquiry into claims that senior police officials maintained corrupt relationships with suspected crime bosses. Some officers are alleged to have received payments in exchange for favours.
According to a statement from the National Prosecuting Authority, the arrests are connected to a contract for providing health and well-being services to police officers that investigators believe was improperly awarded.
The authority’s anti-corruption investigative unit said a 13th suspect — the director of a private company — was also arrested in connection with the case.
The officers made their first court appearance alongside Vusimuzi Matlala, also known as “Cat”, who owns the company Medicare24. The firm was awarded the disputed contract and Matlala is suspected of links to organised crime.
Matlala is currently being held in a maximum-security prison on separate charges related to attempted murder.
During proceedings at the Pretoria Magistrates Court, all the police officers submitted affidavits in support of their bail applications. Prosecutors informed the court that they would not oppose the bail requests.
Investigators allege that some of the arrested officers were members of the bid evaluation committee responsible for assessing and awarding the contract. Prosecutors argued that the committee should have disqualified the company’s application during the procurement process.
Authorities say investigations into the alleged corruption within the police service are ongoing.
