Court Grants Bail to 13 in SAPS Tender Corruption Case

Pretoria Magistrates Court on Wednesday granted bail to 13 individuals accused in a corruption case involving the irregular awarding of a South African Police Service health services tender valued at approximately R229 million to Medicare24 Tshwane District. The accused include 12 senior SAPS officers and the company's managing director, while alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala, the company's sole director, remained in custody after not applying for bail.

The arrests, executed Tuesday night by the National Prosecuting Authority's Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, stem from the June 2024 awarding of the contract, originally budgeted at R360 million, to provide medical services for SAPS personnel across South Africa. Authorities allege fraud, corruption, money laundering, and violations of the Public Finance Management Act, claiming the tender was secured through misrepresentations about the company's capacity, including false assertions of infrastructure and personnel in all nine provinces. Lead investigator Sunnel Belachan stated in an affidavit that these discrepancies should have disqualified Medicare24, resulting in prejudice of R50.3 million to the...