All eyes will be on suspended deputy police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, who will come under the spotlight on Monday in front of members of parliament probing allegations of corruption and political interference in the police service.

Sibiya has been at the centre of the nation’s attention over the last few days following KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, implicating him in the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT).

He was also mentioned when National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola gave his testimony, and faced a search and seizure raid which took place at his home on Thursday.

Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee is investigating allegations made by Mkhwanazi, who said Sibiya allegedly went ahead with plans to disband the PKTT despite being advised not to do so by Masemola, who had concerns with the directive issued by now-suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in December 2024.

Sibiya had allegedly ordered the removal of police dockets from KwaZulu-Natal to the police head offices, without the knowledge of his boss, Masemola.

When he first appeared, Mkhwanazi said Sibiya had instructed a deputy minister to manage and remove Sibiya’s uncooperative boss, Masemola. He said Sibiya had sent a WhatsApp message to the deputy minister informing him or her of spyware procured by the Crime Intelligence unit to the tune of R13 million, without following supply chain management processes.

In his (WhatsApp) message, he stated that only Mchunu was authorised to sign for any contract worth more than R10m. According to Mkhwanazi, Sibiya had mentioned briefing a ‘Comrade Mathebula’ about the matter.

“He goes further to say my suggestion is that we should commit the National Commissioner (Masemola) to this. He needs to come out, whether he knows or not, and (Masemola) must be investigated over why the minister was not informed,” Mkhwanazi said, adding that Sibiya had instructed that the investigation be done over seven days.

Mkhwanazi, responding to questions from IFP MP Albert Mncwango, said Sibiya had elevated himself to an executive authority.

“I strongly believe the compiler of the letter to disestablish this team is not done by the Minister (Mchunu), probably the same person we talk about is the one behind the letter.”

At Thursday’s hearing, MPs heard from Masemola about tensions between Sibiya and Mkhwanazi.

Chief evidence leader, Advocate Norman Arendse SC said, “It seems worse for Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi, is that here is a person who’s been appointed, not in terms of the Constitution, but in terms of the police act”.

“Sibiya is now head of detectives, head of forensics, and now coming sort of into his territory, his jurisdiction in KZN, and wanting literally to pull rank and ordering dockets to be removed from his domain in KZN, and these dockets must be taken to the head office in Pretoria. You’ve heard of that tension?”

Masemola said that he did “hear of that dispute/contention”.

As for the dockets matter, Masemola said, “dockets belong to a police station which belongs to the province, so yes, you would need to inform him when you do such – when you take dockets.

“Even I can’t just go into a province and say, I want that docket. What would be the reason? You must consult the provincial commissioner and tell him why you’re doing what you are doing…It’s not that to say if you are a deputy national commissioner, you have absolute power or authority over any detective in the country,” Masemola said.

Sibiya, alongside his lawyer Ian Levitt, spoke outside his home after Thursday’s raid, saying his colleagues betrayed him, including Masemola.

Levitt said that they will “fully investigate and interrogate what has happened”. He said that he will also raise in court that they weren’t given the affidavit, used to justify the raid.

“Effectively, what they did was they gave us the search and seizure warrant… It was about 4 or 5 or 6 pages there, but it’s essentially with regard to investigations into alleged defeats of justice, and things that have been in the media, there’s nothing new…”

Sibiya then added, “Money laundering, corruption, all those charges, everything they could find”.

He also addressed his appearance in front of the committee on Monday.

“I was hoping that this would go that way, where I’ll be given a chance as well to participate, but along the way, I can also see the anger in General Mkhwanazi, the vengeance… Even when he speaks, I would think that he has passed me, but every five seconds, he would go back to me again.

“He would talk about others, then he would go back to me again. It’s okay, let me go through the process. Let us meet on the other side of the fence.

“What I can say is that all I’m asking is that, if, let’s say, they are planning to come and arrest me. I have a lawyer. They must tell him to come and hand me over, or, if they are coming to arrest me, let them not come at 3 o’clock in the early hours of the morning, so that someone can shoot me and kill me, and say that ‘he was reaching out for a gun, so we took him down’,” Sibiya said.

“What I am asking is let it be done in a fair way.”

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za

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