Suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya during his bail hearing at the Randburg Magistrates Court. Image credit: Simphiwe Nkosi
Suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya has denied all the charges against him at his bail hearing in the Randburg Magistrates Court. During the Shadrack Sibiya bail proceedings on Tuesday, he claimed that a 16 year old girl had a crush on him and blamed her father for a video that forms part of the case.
Sibiya faces five charges, including rape, trafficking in persons and sexual grooming of a child. He intends to plead not guilty to all of them.
What Sibiya told the court in his bail affidavit
In his affidavit, Sibiya said the girl’s father is a close associate of his. According to Sibiya, the father sent him a video of his daughter and told him he was disappointed in her behaviour. Sibiya claims the father said he had received the video from an unknown source.
Sibiya also said the father told him the girl had developed feelings for him. He claims he then spoke to her directly on WhatsApp about it. However, he insists he never had a sexual relationship with her.
On the other hand, the State tells a very different story. Prosecutors allege that Sibiya groomed the girl by exchanging explicit messages with her on WhatsApp and that he possessed explicit material involving her.
As for the 18 year old woman, Sibiya admitted that he met her and had dinner with her. He also admitted that they had sex, but he claims it was consensual. In contrast, the State alleges that he took her and her friends to a Sandton strip club, gave them alcohol and raped her at a hotel after she passed out.
Furthermore, Sibiya described the charges as trumped up. He told the court that his arrest formed part of a plan to put him behind bars. However, he did not name anyone behind the alleged plan.
Sibiya has been in custody at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre since investigators from the Madlanga Commission’s task team arrested him in Sandton on 21 September. The State has said it will oppose bail and has raised concerns about possible witness intimidation.
Meanwhile, Sibiya also faces an internal SAPS disciplinary hearing on 5 October over corruption allegations that came out of the Madlanga Commission.
For now, the Shadrack Sibiya bail hearing will continue on Thursday, and he will stay in custody until then.
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