By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The suspended deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya has appeared in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court.
Sibiya was arrested yesterday by the members of the Commission’s Recommendations Task Team (CRTT).
He is accused of sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl between July and August 2026, as well as the alleged rape of an 18-year-old woman. The rape is reported to have occurred at a hotel in Sandton in May 2026.
He is facing charges including rape, trafficking and sexual grooming of a child.
Sibiya will be moved to Kgosi Mampuru prison in Tshwane and he is expected to return to court on 29 September.
His arrest means that while police officers were investigating the women’s killings, their colleagues have also arrested one of their own for crimes targeting a girl and a woman.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told reporters outside court that the matter had been postponed to September 29 for a formal bail hearing.
“As we have said, it is a Schedule 6 offence because it involves a minor child. The charges are grooming a minor child, trafficking and rape,” Kganyago said.
Sibiya will be moved to Kgosi Mampuru prison in Tshwane and he is expected to return to court on 29 September.
Asked why Sibiya was being held at the correctional centre rather than a police station, Kganyago said the State had intelligence indicating that there was a possibility he could escape.
Fullview understands that there is a ‘cabal’ working with Sibiya and interfering with the case.
The State will oppose bail, he said, citing the seriousness of the charges and concerns about the safety of witnesses.
Kganyago declined to disclose the number of witnesses involved in the matter, saying the investigation was still unfolding.
“You might have heard that there might be other people who working in cahoots to try and intimidate the witnesses,” he said, adding that more arrests could be affected.
According to South African Police Service (Saps) crime statistics, 688 rape cases were reported between April and June. The figure includes 356 women and 332 children.
The official SAPS magazine from last month, using the most recently released statistics, said: “Cases of rape have also slightly dipped, proving that campaigns on gender-based violence are yielding positive results, but more can still be done to flatten the curve completely.”
Meanwhile, Bishop Lazarus Azwihangwi Maumela, who led the Faith Harvest Bible Church, has claimed that Sibiya was arrested while they were dining at a restaurant in Sandton. He described the police official as a “long-time friend” and a “child of God who grew up in church”.