Lieutenant-General Francinah Vuma’s appointment by ex-national police commissioner Kehla Sitole has been questioned. Picture: Phando Jikelo
Security and crime experts warned that suspended national deputy police commissioner Francinah Vuma wouldn’t go down without a fight if her explosive protected disclosure letter to the president was anything to go by.
Yesterday, SAPS management announced the key appointments to top police positions - including an acting incumbent for her post.
SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said that National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, gave the go-ahead for disciplinary proceedings to be instituted against Vuma.
“The commissioner has subsequently sanctioned the initiation of disciplinary processes against the deputy commissioner, hence the suspension has been instituted. The current chief financial officer, Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane, is now acting in the position,” said Mathe.
Vuma’s suspension followed a Constitutional Court ruling which found that she, former commissioner Khehla Sitole and another colleague, Lebeoana Tsumane, had beached their statutory duties.
Vuma’s leaked letter, addressed to officials within the security cluster and President Cyril Ramaphosa, implicated top-ranking figures including Masemola and Police Minister Bheki Cele of intimidation. She depicted how she feared for her life.
Policing and security expert Eldred de Klerk described the disclosure letter as Vuma’s way of fighting back.
“This way she is also making sure that she is not going down alone and that she would drag others along who also have questions to answer,” said De Klerk.
“There have been question marks around her for a while now. This all started with the grabber scandal, but of course she would defend herself and while doing this, she may just also say, ‘I’m not going (down) for this alone’.
“I, however, am concerned that the disclosure was leaked and this is another issue we need to look at because a protected disclosure is there to protect someone,” De Klerk said.
Vuma, prior to her appointment by Sitole, served as the component head for operational support at the protection and security services division.
She started her career as a student constable at the KwaMhlanga police station in 1987. Vuma worked her way up through the ranks, serving in various posts in finance, supply chain management, crime research and support between 1988 and 2010, and later moved to the SAPS’s inspectorate and national management intervention unit.
Described as an experienced administrator and senior manager in the organisation, Vuma at the time of her appointment reported directly to Sitole.
A source within the police told Weekend Argus that people who worked closely with Vuma don't speak highly of her.
"She is politically connected and that’s why she is not going to take the fall alone.”
De Klerk questioned the merits of her appointment, especially as the latest appointments within the SAPS were under the spotlight.
“At the moment, the national commissioner can appoint someone without going through the regular process of appointment. He or she can use their discretion to appoint or to circumvent an appointment,” he said.
“So the question will always be if Vuma was appointed under the Sitole regime, did she go through the normal processes? Was the job advertised? Did she go for an interview? Was there a panel?
“Good public governance suggests (people have the right) to know on what merits a person was appointed.”
De Klerk said the implementation of the SAPS’s Employment Regulations of 2017 should be implemented to ensure that there were checks and balances in place.
“When Fikile Mbalula was still minister of police, he tried to change the policy. He wanted no appointment without consulting with the minister and top structures. You need to change the rules, otherwise we will experience the same cycle.”
Action Society's director of community safety, Ian Cameron, said it was important to examine the inner workings of the SAPS.
“We need to look at the root cause, and here the root cause is weighed on how people in such positions are appointed. What can we do so that we do not have rotten apples in our force any more? All good and well with wanting Vuma out, but who will have the decision to appoint someone in her place again?
“We’ve seen this with (the late) Jackie Selebi, Riah Phiyega and Sitole. Our current national commissioner Masemola, it looks positive, but he has to retire soon.
“The problem is that the commissioners shouldn’t be above (the rules), that is why we find ourselves here,” said Cameron.