Suspended National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola in the dock at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Image: Kamogelo Moichela / IOL News
Our national police commissioner cut a lonely figure in the dock when he appeared at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Tuesday. His visible solitude and impression of loneliness touched a lot of citizens who couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.
It was, indeed, a very sad day for all of South Africa - not just for Masemola and his family. The news travelled around the globe, covered even by the BBCs of this world.
Talking from experience, I can attest that it can really get lonely up there at the top, and those hot seats can really scald you. Many managers and supervisors can sympathise and empathise.
From a distance, Masemola looks to me like a good cop – he’s not part of those WhatsApp groups whose members are now struggling to explain their correspondence to Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga. And we should regard Masemola, like everyone, as innocent until proven otherwise.
But before we get carried away, let’s put things into perspective. Let’s look back and come back quickly to the current corruption mess we are in – that we have been descending into for decades now.
Looking back, one big name comes to mind for some of us: Jackie Selebi. Again, Masemola doesn’t fit in that category. But, fellow South Africans, the name we should invoke at this juncture is that of the late and great Thembekile Kimi Makwetu.
While most people will remember Makwetu for lecturing government officials and crooked politicians about the scourge of irregular and wasteful expenditure costing us taxpayers tens of billions every year. Makwetu, who died in late 2020, also taught all and sundry about preventative controls for safeguarding the public purse and shifted the spotlight onto the accounting officers who should be constantly keeping watch.
If Makwetu were still around, I bet we would be by now watching accounting officers losing their life savings and pensions paying for stolen billions – I dislike the euphemistic “wasteful expenditure” term – year in and year out instead of watching one being hauled to court.
It’s painful, but it comes with the territory. A good precedent is being set here and Masemola can, perhaps assist our troubled nation as he wraps up his term, as he faces his music. He can help restore the culture of accountability, honesty, and clean governance and leadership by being frank with the court and us the public. How did we get here?
It's certainly not over for Masemola and our beleaguered police. But bold action is needed to fix things. And then, perhaps, he can retire with a clear conscience and leave the police in a better place next year..
To quote Makwetu: “Whatever course you take, make sure that the end is always better than the beginning.”