The Randburg Magistrates Court heard details of the Sibiya WhatsApp messages with a 16 year old girl on Thursday, as the bail hearing of suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya continued. In addition, the State played a phone call involving Bishop Maumela, which it says was an attempt to get a complainant to drop the charges.
Detective Sergeant Nokukhanya Ndlovu, the investigating officer from the Commission Recommendations Task Team, read from her affidavit. According to the State, Sibiya took explicit images from the girl’s phone without her knowledge. When she asked him how he got them, he allegedly never answered.
Sibiya WhatsApp messages and a 50 minute call
The court also heard about a phone call between Sibiya and the girl that lasted about 50 minutes. During their contact, he allegedly asked her personal questions of a sexual nature.
In one exchange read out in court, Sibiya noticed that the girl was still awake late at night. She replied that she was finishing her school work.
Furthermore, the State alleges that Sibiya asked the girl to send him explicit videos. According to the affidavit, she sent one on 24 July. He then allegedly praised it and asked for more.
However, Sibiya tells a different story. In his affidavit earlier this week, he claimed that the girl’s father sent him the video after finding it on her phone. He also claimed the father told him the girl had a crush on him. Sibiya denies any sexual relationship with her.
Separately, Sibiya admits that he had sex with the 18 year old woman in the case, but he says it was consensual. The State, on the other hand, alleges that he raped her after she passed out at a Sandton hotel in May. At his first appearance in September, prosecutors also alleged that he later boasted to her friends that she had been a virgin.
Meanwhile, the court heard a recording of a phone call between Bishop Maumela and the father of a complainant. In the call, Maumela tells the man that the general has been arrested. He also tries to find out who was at the hotel. According to Ndlovu, the aim was to persuade a complainant to drop the case.
In response, Sibiya’s son, Ofentse Magwenya, said in an affidavit that Maumela acted on his own. He added that neither he, his father nor any family member asked the bishop to make contact.
In addition, the State said some complainants feared reporting Sibiya because of his senior rank. Prosecutors also plan to add a firearm charge. They allege that police found a gun in his car on 21 September, the day of his arrest, and that he did not store it properly.
On the other hand, his attorney, Rashaad Moosa, argued that Sibiya is not a flight risk. The defence also maintains that the charges are trumped up. Sibiya has asked for bail of R20 000.
For now, the magistrate has not ruled on bail, and Sibiya remains in custody as the court weighs the Sibiya WhatsApp messages and the rest of the State’s evidence.
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