The charges against suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya make for grim reading. The state alleges that the 59-year-old, who headed crime detection in the South African Police Service (SAPS), raped an 18-year-old at a Sandton hotel in May after she had been plied with alcohol and lost consciousness.
He is also accused of grooming a 16-year-old girl, possessing and sharing explicit images of her, and trafficking three people for sexual exploitation. A sixth charge of negligently handling a firearm, has been added.
Sibiya says they are trumped up and politically motivated. He admits having sex with the 18-year-old but says it was consensual. His lawyers argue that the teenager sent the videos of her own accord. He has not yet pleaded.
This newspaper makes no finding on his guilt or innocence. That is for the court to decide. But the fact that a man in his position faces charges like these at all should trouble every South African.
What emerged during his bail hearing in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court was disturbing. According to the state, Sibiya sent the 16-year-old explicit material and, in a phone call, told her to keep herself for him. The state also alleges that on the night of the alleged rape, he arranged for four young women to be taken to The Grand, a gentlemen’s club in Sandton, and later, back at their hotel, drew them into a drinking game called Dare or Double Dare. One of them passed out.
The allegations describe a senior officer using his rank — and the trust that comes with it — against the people the police are meant to protect.
The case comes as violence against women and children shows no sign of easing. Between April and June this year, 569 women were murdered in South Africa and 9 201 rapes were reported. In the 2025/26 financial year, the SAPS received 50 511 reports of gender-based violence and femicide. Only 30 736 led to an arrest or a referral for prosecution. Roughly four in 10 cases went nowhere.
The police are part of the problem. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate recorded 332 GBVF-related cases against police officers in 2025/26, among them 116 alleged rapes, up from 95 the year before. In 72 of the rape cases, the officer was allegedly on duty. The figures describe a service with a serious problem.
Sibiya has spent nearly four decades in policing. He worked at Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Pretoria, led the Hawks in Gauteng and rose to become deputy national commissioner for crime detection. If he is convicted, it will mean that one of the country’s top crime fighters was preying on the vulnerable.
If he is acquitted, the SAPS still has questions to answer. How are senior officers vetted and held to account? Why do rape complaints against officers keep rising? What is a woman supposed to think when the officer taking her statement might be the person she should fear?
Until women can walk the streets, report a crime and trust the officer behind the counter, none of us is free. Whatever the court decides about Sibiya, the SAPS must answer for a culture that allows complaints like these to keep piling up.
- Suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya faces charges including rape of an 18-year-old, grooming, possession and sharing explicit images of a 16-year-old, trafficking three people for sexual exploitation, and negligent handling of a firearm.
- Sibiya admits to having consensual sex with the 18-year-old but denies the other allegations, claiming they are politically motivated, and has not yet pleaded.
- During his bail hearing, it was revealed that Sibiya allegedly sent explicit material to the 16-year-old and instructed her to "keep herself" for him, and arranged for young women to be brought to a club and participate in a drinking game resulting in one passing out.
- South Africa is experiencing a high rate of violence against women and children, with 569 women murdered and 9,201 rapes reported between April and June 2025, and only about 60% of GBVF cases leading to arrest or prosecution.
- The Independent Police Investigative Directorate recorded 332 GBVF-related cases against police officers in 2025/26, including 116 alleged rapes, 72 of which occurred while officers were on duty, highlighting systemic issues within the police service.
