Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, one of the South African Police Service’s most senior officers, is back in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday as the state seeks to keep him in custody on serious sexual offence charges.
Sibiya, 59, is the suspended deputy national commissioner for crime detection. He was appointed to the position in 2023, with responsibility for the country’s detectives and elements of the SAPS crime-detection system.
He began his police career as a student constable and rose through the ranks, including serving in the Hawks and later heading the City of Johannesburg’s forensic and investigation services before returning to the SAPS.
His career became increasingly controversial in 2025 after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused senior police officials of interfering in investigations involving politically connected and alleged criminal figures.
Sibiya was suspended after allegations that he had played a role in the disbandment of the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team and the removal of more than 120 dockets from the unit. He denied wrongdoing and told Parliament that he had not acted to interfere with investigations.
Sibiya’s latest legal troubles stem from the Madlanga Commission investigative task team.
He was arrested on 21 September and appeared in the Randburg court the following day. He faces five charges, including rape, trafficking in persons, promoting the sexual grooming of a child and two counts of sexual grooming of a child.
The state alleges that Sibiya sexually groomed a 16-year-old girl through electronic communications between July and August. It also alleges that he raped an 18-year-old woman at a Sandton hotel in May after taking her and a friend to a nightclub and providing them with alcohol.
Sibiya has not pleaded to the charges. He has been held at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria.
He is remanded in custody.
This is a developing story. More details will follow.