The bail hearing of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya has been postponed to Thursday, October 1, after the State asked for additional time to respond to evidence presented by a defence witness.
Sibiya, 59, appeared in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday for his second appearance since his arrest last week on five charges, including rape, human trafficking, promoting the sexual grooming of a child and two counts of sexual grooming of a child.
He remains in custody at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility pending his next appearance.
The State is opposing bail, citing concerns about possible interference with witnesses and the risk of Sibiya evading the criminal justice process. The matter had initially been postponed to September 29 for the formal bail application.
The charges relate to alleged incidents involving a 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman between May and August this year.
The State alleges that Sibiya sexually groomed the 16-year-old through electronic communication and is also linked to an alleged rape involving the 18-year-old woman.
The trafficking charge relates to allegations involving three women.
Sibiya has not pleaded guilty to the charges and disputes key allegations against him.
Through his legal team, he has admitted that he had sexual intercourse with the 18-year-old woman but maintains that the encounter was consensual and denies raping her.
His defence has also disputed the trafficking allegations, with Sibiya maintaining that he met the young woman at a hotel and that they travelled in separate vehicles to The Grand strip club.
Sibiya has further denied allegations that he distributed explicit material to the 16-year-old. He reportedly told the court that videos were shown and forwarded to him by the girl’s father.
The defence has also placed Sibiya’s version of events surrounding an evening at The Grand before the court, including his claim that the 16-year-old’s father was present.
These allegations and Sibiya’s version have yet to be tested at trial.
The State’s request for another postponement came after the defence presented evidence from another witness. Prosecutors told the court they needed time to consider and respond to papers relating to the new witness, which had only been served on the State during the proceedings.
Sibiya’s bail affidavit argues that the interests of justice favour his release.
He denies that he intends to evade trial or interfere with witnesses and rejects the State’s allegations of a so-called “cabal” linked to attempts to interfere with the case.
Sibiya also states that he has been married since 2018 and is the father of four children who depend on him.
The senior officer has been suspended from the SAPS for more than a year. His suspension followed allegations surrounding the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) and claims that 121 case dockets were withdrawn from the task team and transferred to the Detective and Forensic Services division without the required authorisation. Sibiya has disputed allegations of wrongdoing.
His criminal case now comes as his position within the SAPS also faces a separate disciplinary process.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed that Sibiya was served with a notice at the court on Tuesday to attend an expedited disciplinary hearing scheduled for October 5.
According to Mathe, the disciplinary proceedings relate to matters that emerged during the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Mathe said the presiding officer, a senior SAPS officer, served Sibiya with the notice while he was at court.
Should Sibiya still be in custody on October 5, Mathe said the SAPS would work with Correctional Services to facilitate the disciplinary proceedings at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility.
The internal process comes after the Madlanga Commission recommended disciplinary proceedings against Sibiya and an immediate investigation into alleged criminal conduct. The commission’s recommendations included Sibiya among senior officials whose conduct required further action.
Sibiya is not the first senior police officer caught up in the disciplinary fallout from evidence heard by the commission.
Major-General Richard Shibiri, the former head of the SAPS Organised Crime unit, was dismissed in June after an internal disciplinary process found him guilty of misconduct that brought the police service into disrepute, including associating with a known criminal.
Brigadier Rachel Matjeng was also dismissed, effective June 30, following an internal disciplinary process in which she was found guilty of multiple counts of serious misconduct. The charges included accepting gratification, money laundering, improper conduct and dishonesty.
And earlier this month, Major-General Feroz Khan, the former deputy head of Crime Intelligence, was dismissed after failing to appear before the designated senior officer handling his expedited disciplinary process. His dismissal followed a Labour Court setback in his attempt to stop the disciplinary proceedings.
Sibiya’s disciplinary hearing is therefore set to unfold alongside his criminal case, with the next development expected when he returns to the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on October 1 for the continuation of his bail application.
