Suspended deputy police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya’s connection with alleged criminals and where his relationship went wrong with KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, took up a large part of Monday’s Ad Hoc Committee hearing.

Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee is investigating allegations made by Mkhwanazi, who accused Sibiya of disbanding the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) despite being advised not to do so by national commissioner General Fannie 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 Masemola’s knowledge.

During his testimony, Sibiya explained that he had a good working relationship with Mkhwanazi for years, and there was no issue until the arrest of the individuals allegedly involved in the murder of South African rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend Chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane -this is when personal issues arose between the senior policemen.

Sibiya said that when the previous police Minister, Bheki Cele, had asked about a debrief on the case, he contacted Mkhwanazi’s deputy, instead of Mkhwanazi, and did not think he would make a big issue of this.

Thereafter, he got a call from Mkhwanazi, who, according to him, said, “You are not going to phone my province and order my people around”. Sibiya said that he did not take kindly to Mkhwanazi’s reaction and that the tensions between them were only resolved after Cele and Masemola stepped in with a meeting to fix their issues.

Sibiya said that he recalled the meeting as being cordial and that they shook hands and saluted as they left the meeting. “It was a mature meeting. There was no fight.”

He said even on the 4th of July, the eve of Mkhwanazi’s press conference in which he laid bare allegations of political interference in the police, he “didn’t see it coming, actually”.

Sibiya also admitted that he had spoken with alleged murder accused and tender kingpin accused Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala and controversial North West businessman Oupa Brown Mogotsi.

Matlala, believed to be connected to fraudulent transactions in the Tembisa Hospital R2 Billion ‘looting’, was arrested in April on unrelated charges. He was arrested for allegedly orchestrating the 2023 attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, actress Tebogo Thobejane, and is currently in custody after being denied bail.

Mogotsi has been implicated in the alleged unlawful interference at the South African Police Service (SAPS). Mogotsi has been a central figure during the Madlanga Commission’s early testimony, with multiple witnesses pointing to his proximity to senior SAPS officials and his alleged role in corrupting the integrity of law enforcement.

During his testimony, Sibiya said that while he has had conversations with Mogotsi, “It’s not like we are friends, we are not close with each other. I do have his number, but many times, he is the one who calls”.

With regards to Matlala, Sibiya said, “I didn’t have a relationship with him”, and that he just got to know him as a stakeholder and service provider.

“We were not friends, but at the same time, I was getting to know him. He was not someone I was really close to; it was just the beginning of getting to know each other more. My interactions with him are just very, very limited.”

Sibiya said that he was aware of the PKTT but that “when I look at the PKTT as a task team, mainly focused on KZN, it is a cause for concern because when you look at the PKTT and the work that must happen, I can tell you that we have other political killings throughout the country not being tended to by the PKTT”.

Sibiya also said the PKTT, according to Masemola, was not a formal unit, and that he was therefore of the view that Masemola did not see the task team as a permanent structure.

Arendse in response, said that the PKTT had been budgeted for until March 2026.

Earlier in the day, proceedings were delayed for over an hour after the issue of a conflict of interest was raised.

MPs from uMkhonto weSizwe Party and the Democratic Alliance are complainants in cases that were lodged in the wake of Mkhwanazi’s July 6 briefing and these cases led to the search and seizure raid on Sibiya last week.

The MPs heard that the terms of reference of the ad hoc hearing does not empower it to make any decision on conflicts of interest.

“The only recourse is to write to the Speaker and alert that office of matters that have arisen,” chairperson, Soviet Lekganyane, said.

Sibiya agreed to proceed with the hearings, but he did so in protest as he would be “participating in a process that is tainted”.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za

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