High court lifts Mpumalanga provincial police commissioner’s suspension
The board of inquiry that Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela was due to face, scheduled to convene on October 14, has also been halted by a high court ruling.
Mpumalanga top cop, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, had her suspension lifted by the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, on Friday October 11.
The national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, had suspended Manamela on Friday, June 14. This had been the second time that Masemola had suspended Manamela within a 24-month period.
“The suspension of the applicant (Manamela) by the first respondent (Masemola) on June 14, 2024 is to be uplifted pending the hearing and determination of a review of the decision of the first respondent to bring additional charges against the applicant, which review application was issued on 11 June 2024,” reads the judgment, a copy of which this publication has.
The first suspension was during February 2023 after she was charged with the alleged abuse of power, maladministration, nepotism and mismanagement of funds, among others.
Manamela approached the high court to have her suspension declared illegal.
The court ruled in her favour and found that her suspension was procedurally illegal.
Manamela had been replaced by the current acting provincial police commissioner, Major General (Dr) Zeph Mkhwanazi.
After winning the case Manamela returned to office, resulting in Mkhwanazi having to leave the province immediately.
New charges against Manamela were brought foward and she was subsequently suspended again, this time on June 14. She again went to seek redress in the high court and lost.
The court ruled that she had to face a board of inquiry instituted by Masemola to establish if she was fit to hold office.
This followed allegations that Manamela had insulted colleagues, abused state vehicles, and illegally installed CCTV cameras at the provincial headquarters, among other fresh charges.
The board of inquiry that Masemola had appointed was due to convene from October 14 to 18, and from November 18 to 22.
After the high court ruled against Manamela she petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to overule the high court’s decision.
“The first respondent (Masemola) is interdicted and restrained from convening and conducting a board of inquiry on 14 to 18 October 2024 and 18 to 22 November 2024 pending the hearing and determination of the ongoing appeal processes under SCA case number 928/24 and/or review application under case no 2024/06489,” reads the judgment.
