SAPS Unable to Recruit 5,500 Officers After Medicare24 Contract Cancelled
- SAPS top management briefed Parliament on why a major recruitment drive failed to meet its target for the 2025/26 financial year
- The stalled intake is linked to a cancelled R360 million contract with Medicare24, owned by an alleged crime kingpin
- SAPS now plans to absorb the deferred recruits into the current year, targeting 11,000 new officers with SANDF support
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SOUTH AFRICA — The South African Police Service failed to bring 5,500 new recruits into its ranks during the 2025/26 financial year, a shortfall directly tied to the cancellation of a R360 million contract with a health screening company.
According to Eyewitness News, Acting Commissioner Puleng Dimpane and Major-General Leon Rabie appeared before Parliament's police portfolio committee on 7 October 2026 to account for the service's annual performance. The two officials confirmed that mandatory medical assessments for prospective recruits could not be completed after the tender awarded to Medicare24 was terminated. A total of 12 SAPS officers were arrested for the tender.
Medicare24 contract at centre of recruitment failure
Medicare24, the company contracted to conduct pre-recruitment health screenings, is owned by alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala. Matlala is currently behind bars after he was arrested for Tebogo Thobejane's attempted murder. With no service provider in place to carry out the required medical evaluations, the entire intake process came to a standstill, leaving thousands of vetted candidates in limbo. Despite the recruitment setback, Dimpane and Rabie told MPs that contact crime dropped by 7.2% over the past two years, offering some positive ground amid otherwise difficult testimony.
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SAPS eyes 11,000 new officers
SAPS management confirmed that the 5,500 deferred recruits will be rolled over into the current financial year's target. Combined with the existing intake plan, this brings the total planned intake to 11,000 new officers. To avoid a repeat of the bottleneck, the South African National Defence Force will now conduct the required medical assessments for incoming trainees.
The development raises broader questions about the impact of procurement failures on frontline policing capacity, particularly at a time when the service is under pressure to reduce violent crime across the country.
SAPS recruitment drive receives over 1 million applications
In a related article, Briefly News reported on the SAPS recruitment drive, which received more than 1 million applications and drew questions about the representation of different racial groups.
Fewer than 6,000 applications came from Coloured, Indian and White candidates combined. SAPS says it plans targeted outreach to encourage more applications from underrepresented groups.
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Source: Briefly News
