Sibiya allegedly plied 18-year-old with alcohol before rape, court hears - IOL

Suspended deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya is facing allegations of rape and sexual grooming of a teenager.

The Randburg Magistrates’ Court heard that suspended deputy national police commissioner for crime detection Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya allegedly took two girls, 16 and 18, to a strip club in Sandton, where he bought them food and plied them with alcohol before allegedly raping the 18-year-old woman after she passed out.

Sibiya appeared on Tuesday, facing five charges, including rape, trafficking in persons and sexual grooming of a child.

Sibiya was arrested on Monday night by members of the Commission’s Recommendations Task Team (CRTT).

He is accused of sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl between July and August 2026 and raping an 18-year-old woman at a hotel in Sandton in May.

The charges relate to alleged incidents between May 16 and August 3 involving the adult woman and the 16-year-old girl.

The State alleges that Sibiya sexually groomed the child through electronic communication. 

He also faces a charge of trafficking in persons arising from allegations involving three people.

According to a charge sheet seen by IOL, the state alleges that Sibiya first became acquainted with the 16-year-old after her father, who is an associate of the accused, provided Sibiya with her contact details on or about July 18, 2026, to arrange transportation.

The state further alleges that Sibiya subsequently befriended the girl through WhatsApp messages.

“Between 20 July 2026 and 3 August 2026, the accused engaged in sexually explicit electronic communications with the child complainant via WhatsApp messages, where he sent her nude pictures of herself without her supplying the same to him.”

“The complainant was unaware how the accused got hold of her photos.”

“The accused persuaded the complainant to send him videos of herself masturbating.”

The state alleges that on May 16, 2026, Sibiya trafficked or caused to be trafficked three people, including the second complainant, an 18-year-old woman who was a friend of the 16-year-old.

According to the state, Sibiya had planned an outing and helped arrange accommodation and transport for them.

They were booked into the Garden Court hotel and allegedly asked someone to use their hotel points to pay for their accommodation.

On May 16, they were fetched from the hotel where they had been staying. 

Sibiya was allegedly with them at the time, although he was previously unknown to the women.

“The accused, having heard that they were going out, instructed the girls to change their clothing and told them that he would take them to a classy place which was at that stage unknown to the girls. “

State alleged Sibiya took them to "The Grand" which is a strip club in Sandton. 

“He bought them food and plied them with liquor at "The Grand" and continued doing so at the Garden Court Hotel.”

“When the complainant had passed out the accused raped her and, on his way, out of the hotel room he boasted to the complainant's friends that she was very nice and still a virgin.”

The state alleges that on or about July 20, 2026, in Gauteng, Sibiya unlawfully and intentionally possessed and distributed nude photographs intended to facilitate the commission of a sexual act involving a 16-year-old child.

The state also alleges that between July 20 and August 3, 2026, in Gauteng, Sibiya unlawfully and intentionally supplied, exposed or displayed to the 16-year-old complainant, through WhatsApp and other electronic communications, nude photographs of her depicting her breasts and genital organs.

According to the state, the photographs were intended to be used in the performance of a sexual act, with the intention of encouraging, enabling, instructing or persuading the child to perform a sexual act.

The state further alleges that on July 24, 2026, in Gauteng, Sibiya unlawfully and intentionally communicated with the 16-year-old complainant through WhatsApp and, during that communication or subsequent communications, invited, persuaded, seduced, induced, enticed or coerced her to provide him with the material referred to in the charge sheet.

“By means of any form of communication, including electronic communication (WhatsApp), with any image, publication, depiction, description or sequence of child pornography of the said child by causing her to masturbate on video and forward the said video via WhatsApp to him.”

The state further alleges that on or about May 16, 2026, at the Garden Court hotel and The Grand in Sandton, Sibiya unlawfully and intentionally delivered, recruited or transported the alleged victims within South Africa through the abuse of vulnerability, deception or abuse of power, for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

“In that upon or about the 16 May 2026, and at or near the Garden Court Hotel in Sandton, in the regional division of Gauteng the accused did unlawfully and intentionally commit an act of sexual penetration with complainant… by inserting his penis and/or unknown object into her vagina, without her consent, whilst she was passed out due to intoxication administered by the accused,” read the charge sheet.

The matter was postponed to September 29 for a formal bail hearing.

Sibiya will remain in custody at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria until the bail proceedings.

The state said it had intelligence suggesting there was a possibility Sibiya could escape if he were held at a police station, including Johannesburg Central police station.

NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the state would oppose bail, citing the seriousness of the charges and concerns about the safety of witnesses.

“There is intimidation, there are threats. There is a voice note that was sent around at about 2 o’clock today, indicating that there are possible threats, and it could even be from the suspect himself,” Kganyago said.

He declined to disclose the number of witnesses in the case, saying the information was sensitive.

“But what I can tell you is there is a cabal of people who are working with him. It is not only the accused,” he said.

Kganyago said further arrests were possible and that investigators were searching for devices allegedly used to intimidate witnesses.

Before the proceedings began, tensions rose outside the court when one of Sibiya’s close associates claimed that his arrest was linked to a succession battle within the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Lazarus Maumela, who described himself as a close associate of Sibiya, told journalists outside the court that he believed the arrest formed part of a targeted campaign against the senior police officer.

Maumela said he was present when Sibiya was arrested and claimed the case was connected to a succession battle within the police service.

“A long-time friend and a child of God who grew up in church. A very great keyboard player and a man who loves worshipping. And, of course, we are here to support a person who is, in our view, being victimised,” Maumela said.

“There is a targeted plan against him, only because of the succession battle of the SAPS.”

Maumela also criticised the state of policing in South Africa, claiming that senior police officials were more focused on internal battles than fighting crime.

“This is as a result of the failure of the government of South Africa because you cannot have people doing as they wish. You look at the amount of people that are being killed. Police are busy fighting in the boardroom rather than going to hunt the criminals,” he said.

“People are fed up with these police. Because there’s no police in South Africa. They are gangsters because if you do a proper lifestyle audit of all generals, you will see what we are talking about, that these are criminals.”

Asked what evidence he had to support his claim that Sibiya was being targeted, Maumela referred to South Africa’s political history.

“We know the history of South Africa very well. We know what happened to Jacob Zuma when he was supposed to ascend to power. He was accused of rape. We know what people are capable of,” he said.

“There are many, many men in South Africa who have been [accused]. We know this. This is because of the succession battles.”

Maumela also questioned the timing of Sibiya’s arrest, given that the alleged rape is said to have occurred in May.

“If the general indeed had done this, and they allege that it happened in May, why was he not arrested then? What was it that we were waiting for?” he asked.

“We appreciate the work that Madlanga Commission is doing. So we also appreciate the fact that Madlanga, in their second interim report, had highlighted this individual for further investigation by the commission,” he said.

Maumela claimed that allegations of sexual offences had historically been used in succession battles, but provided no evidence that the allegations against Sibiya were fabricated or linked to the SAPS leadership contest.