National police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe says the cops are not aware of the alleged arrest of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner for crime detection Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya.
“As you all know, there are investigations that are ongoing as publicised and mentioned at the [parliament] ad hoc committee and the Madlanga commission. As SAPS [South African Police Service], we are not aware of any person that has been arrested thus far, and that includes Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya,” said Mathe on Thursday.
On Thursday, several media houses reported that police officers arrived at Sibiya’s home in Centurion, Pretoria. The media reports stated that it was unclear whether the presence of the police officers at Sibiya’s home was to conduct a raid or arrest Sibiya.
Meanwhile, the national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola told the Madlanga commission of inquiry last month that Sibiya is currently on suspension.
The suspension comes after an internal SAPS investigation revealed that there is prima facie evidence to suggest that Sibiya interfered with and delayed police investigations of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) SAPS political killings task team (PKTT), and he is associated with criminal syndicates.
Masemola said the allegations of Sibiya being linked to criminal syndicates are unsubstantiated and are still under investigation.
He said Sibiya will be hauled before a disciplinary hearing while on suspension.
In a media briefing on July 6 2025, KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said alleged drug cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala was awarded a SAPS tender worth more than R360 million in 2024.
Mkhwanazi said on May 13 2025, Masemola cancelled the SAPS tender awarded to Matlala. The tender award was cancelled a day before Matlala’s arrest for his alleged role in the attempted murder of his ex-lover Tebogo Thobejane.
Mkhwanazi said he is in possession of WhatsApp communication between Matlala and Brown Mogotsi, a comrade of police minister Senzo Mchunu, allegedly discussing how Mogotsi is working to get Mchunu and Sibiya to interfere and suppress the police investigations into Matlala.
He said he has proofs of payment showing that Matlala funded the ANC political activities and events of Mchunu and Mogotsi.
Mkhwanazi said he believes that Mchunu and Sibiya took a decision to disband the KZN SAPS political killings task team because it raided Matlala’s home in December 2024 and because it was making inroads in certain Gauteng cases.
