Former SAPS deputy national commissioner Lt-Gen Francinah Vuma is expected to testify before a parliamentary ad hoc committee.
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Former Deputy National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Lieutenant General Francinah Vuma, who was suspended in 2022 and retired in January 2026, is set to appear before an ad hoc parliamentary committee.
The committee is investigating explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi during a bombshell media briefing in July 2025.
Vuma, who served as deputy national commissioner for support services and later for asset and legal management, is expected to testify about her suspension and claims that she was targeted by former police minister Bheki Cele and national commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
In 2022, Vuma went against Masemola and Cele, alleging corruption and unlawful conduct.
In a leaked letter addressed to officials within the security cluster and President Cyril Ramaphosa, Vuma implicated several top-ranking figures.
In the protected disclosure, she accused Masemola of instituting an unjustified suspension against her on Cele’s behalf.
She claimed Masemola was pursuing a corrupt agenda and issuing a number of “unlawful instructions” that she refused to execute on ethical and professional grounds.
“As you would know, the Act declares that employees making protected disclosures like myself should not be subjected to occupational detriment by the employer, wholly or partly on account of having made a protected disclosure,” she wrote.
Vuma said the letter was not her first disclosure.
“I have made a couple of disclosures to the former national commissioner and other members of the government’s investigative arms relating to various matters,” she wrote.
“I have become a target for various reasons, the latest being the attempt to suspend or transfer me due to pressure from the top, and to have me disciplined and potentially removed from SAPS.”
Vuma also told Ramaphosa that she feared for her life.
“I am both scared for my life and livelihood. Both are being threatened because I have taken it upon myself not to be influenced in my decisions and to stand on principle,” she wrote.
She said she had reported the matter to several authorities, including the State Security Agency, which at one point assessed that her life might be in danger.
Vuma said the written disclosure was a last resort after previous attempts to raise concerns internally.
The former deputy commissioner, who spent 34 years in SAPS, alleged that Masemola told her on 30 June 2022 that he was under pressure from both internal and external parties to suspend her.
In July 2022, Masemola served her with a written notice of suspension or temporary transfer, giving her three days to respond.
Vuma said she requested additional time to consult her legal representatives but that Masemola refused.
“I believe that Masemola’s relentless and hasty pursuit to suspend me is nothing but an attempt at getting his hands on the safe,” she wrote.
At the same time, Vuma said she had been subpoenaed by the National Prosecuting Authority to provide documents related to the procurement of accommodation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup - an investigation involving then national police commissioner Cele and others.
She said the subpoenas required her to submit the documents before 20 June 2022, failing which she would have had to appear in court by 24 June to explain her non-cooperation.
“My initial attempt to locate the required documents was stonewalled,” she wrote.
Vuma said she then contacted the national head of the Hawks for assistance in locating the evidence. She eventually gathered the relevant documents and submitted copies to the NPA.
“I remain a co-operating and competent witness,” she wrote.
Vuma also alleged unlawful procurement of Covid-19 personal protective equipment by senior officials.
She claimed that during a meeting, a high-ranking officer directed her towards specific companies allegedly hand-picked by Cele.
She said she was later summoned to a meeting with the minister where she and a colleague were berated for refusing to purchase from the companies.
“I stood my ground and said we would not be coerced to act unlawfully,” she wrote, adding that she subsequently reported Cele through a protected disclosure.
She also alleged that Cele reprimanded her for removing a major-general who had been appointed as chief audit executive despite lacking the necessary qualifications.
Vuma said the threats against her life intensified during this period.
Some allegedly came from a senior colleague who was later dismissed, while others came from unknown callers and suspicious activity around her home.
A threat assessment was later conducted by Crime Intelligence, she said.
Vuma further alleged that Cele was involved in the R120 million procurement of interception equipment that lacked the required certification from the departments of state security and justice.
“As a result, the interception equipment remained unused and the expenditure was wasted,” she wrote.
She said she launched investigations into fruitless and wasteful expenditure linked to the purchase, which led to further threats.
Vuma said she also investigated other contracts she believed were unlawfully awarded.
Her testimony before the ad hoc committee is expected to focus on her tenure as deputy national commissioner and several transactions that took place under her watch.
Vuma is considered a key figure in several high-profile investigations into alleged corruption and misconduct within SAPS.
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