South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed the country's top policeman on "precautionary suspension" after he was charged in court on Tuesday.

Gen Fannie Masemola, 62, is alleged to have failed in his oversight duties in connection with the awarding of a controversial $21m (£15.5m) health contract, which has become the subject of a criminal investigation and has since been cancelled.

He has been charged with violating part of South Africa's Public Finance Management Act, which governs how taxpayers' money is spent.

Masemola told journalists after Tuesday's hearing that he denied the charges. "I know that I'm not guilty, I'm not wrong, but the [law] must take its course," he said.

He is the third South African police chief to face a criminal investigation while in office.

Ramaphosa said he had decided to suspend the policeman because of the "seriousness of these charges and the critical role that the national commissioner of police plays in leading the fight against crime".

Masemola will be suspended until the court case is concluded, he added.

Ramaphosa, who has been under growing pressure to stamp out police corruption, stressed that it was vital for law enforcement agencies to be "capable, ethical and effective" and to have the confidence of the people of South Africa.

The president made the announcement during a press briefing in the capital, Pretoria, with Masemola's replacement, Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane, standing alongside him.

She has been the police service's chief financial officer since 2018 and has been in the force for almost 20 years.

But her appointment is already being questioned, given she oversaw the police's finances during the period the alleged corruption took place. She has previously denied any involvement in corruption.

Masemola's court case concerns a tender awarded to the controversial businessman Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala's company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, in 2024, which was meant to provide health services to the police.

It was cancelled a year later, in May 2025, and since then, a dozen senior police officers have been formally charged for their role in awarding the contract.

They have been accused of colluding with Matlala, who has also been charged with corruption. None of them has yet been asked to plead in court.

Masemola, who was also not asked to enter a plea, is the only one who has not been charged with corruption. He faces four counts of breaching the Public Finance Act.

The allegations about the health contract tender came up at an inquiry, known as the Madlanga Commission, set up by Ramaphosa last September to look into corruption in the police force.