The Public Protector is set to probe allegations that South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola targeted top police officials, fearing that the then police minister Bheki Cele would replace him.

The request for advocate Kholeka Gceleka to look into the matter came after prominent activist Elias Muller complained to Gcaleka’s office that President Cyril Ramaphosa had rejected his initial request for the president to appoint a board of inquiry to investigate the allegations of sabotage publicly made by former police member Patricia Mashale who said that Masemola sought for her to assist him with the situation.

On December 18, Muller wrote to Gcaleka, asking her office to probe whether the president did not violate the law when, through his spokesperson, rejected his request to appoint a panel to investigate the claims Mashale had made about Masemola, alleging that he was vetting top police officials suspected to be close to then police minister Cele.

Furthermore, Muller asked Gcaleka to investigate why Ramaphosa rejected his request for a board of inquiry to investigate Mashale's claims.

"The Public Protector's office indicated that they will investigate all the claims, including my concerns about the president showing less interest in testing these allegations," Muller told IOL.

In her Facebook and X posts, Mashale alleged that Masemola arranged a meeting between herself and a trusted confidant of his at a guest house in Brandwag, Bloemfontein - an allegation the national police spokesperson said was not correct, adding they would not respond to allegations that were not backed by evidence.

Mashale claimed that veteran violence monitor Mary de Haas was aware of Masemola’s fears, adding that he also communicated with De Haas regarding his protection.

De Haas confirmed knowledge of the matter and 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 (police) also leak information because both Patricia and them have been working and assisting good police members for many years, and are widely trusted,” she said.

She said that she wrote to Parliament's 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.

Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said at the time that the Presidency would not establish boards of inquiries based on social media posts.

Gcaleka did not respond to questions from IOL.

In November, Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya obtained an interim order barring Mashale from publishing defamatory statements accusing him of corruption.

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Public Protector set to probe claims of Masemola targeting top police officials