The arrest of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya on charges of sexual grooming and rape has triggered explosive claims of political targeting, with his associate, Bishop Lazarus Maumela, alleging that the case is linked to a bitter succession battle within the South African Police Service (SAPS).
WATCH: Doctor Maumela, who was with Sibiya when he got arrested, says they were dining at a restaurant in Sandton when the police came. “He was so relaxed; he thought that they were making a joke.” pic.twitter.com/cUQ77IYKfC
— Sunday World News (@SundayWorldZA) September 22, 2026
Sibiya was arrested on Monday evening while having dinner with Maumela at a restaurant in Sandton.
“When the police arrived, he was relaxed. Maybe he thought they were just making a joke,” Maumela said.
He shared that the police had earlier in the day searched Sibiya’s home, an operation Maumela also linked to what he described as a broader campaign targeting individuals within the police service.
According to Maumela, Sibiya’s arrest cannot be separated from the contest over who will occupy the position of national police commissioner:
“This is an act where people have been targeted because of a succession battle.”
Call for president to intervene
Maumela went further, accusing elements within law enforcement of deliberately targeting Sibiya and warning that the situation could provoke retaliation.
ALSO READ: Madlanga calls for disciplinary action against Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya
“And if the president cannot intervene, we’re going to retaliate, because we cannot have the law enforcement that has been used to target individuals. Witchcraft is targeting him. This is the symbol of witchcraft that is targeting him, because someone has to end up being the national police commissioner,” Maumela said.
He questioned why Sibiya had been arrested while others facing legal processes had instead been summoned to court.
“Others are subpoenaed to come to court, but this one gets to be arrested,” he said, arguing that the timing pointed to what he described as an agenda within SAPS to single out Sibiya.
Sibiya, 59, appeared before the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday following his arrest by members of the Commission Recommendations Task Team.
He is facing five charges, three charges of sexually grooming a minor, trafficking and rape. Despite the media being barred from entering the courtroom, Sunday World saw the charge sheet that alleged that in May, July, and August 2026 the accused allegedly raped the teenage girl.
Alleged grooming of 16-year-old
The prosecution alleges that Sibiya communicated with the teenage girl through WhatsApp and, between July 20 and August 3, engaged in sexually explicit communications with her.
It is further alleged that he sent the teenager nude photographs of herself, despite her allegedly not having supplied those photographs to him, and that he subsequently persuaded her to send videos of herself masturbating.
The state has charged Sibiya with offences relating to the promotion and sexual grooming of a child.
One of the charges alleges that he possessed and distributed nude images intended to facilitate the commission of a sexual act involving a child.
Another charge alleges that he supplied, exposed or displayed sexually explicit images of the child to her through WhatsApp, allegedly with the intention of encouraging or persuading her to perform a sexual act.
A further charge alleges that Sibiya communicated with the girl through WhatsApp and persuaded, induced or enticed her to provide an image or video amounting to child sexual-abuse material by causing her to masturbate on video and allegedly forwarding the recording to him.
Alleged Sandton hotel rape
The fourth count in the charge sheet relates to an alleged incident involving three women and invokes the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act.
According to the state’s case, the three women had arranged an outing and accommodation at the Garden Court Hotel in Sandton. The charge sheet revealed that on May 16 2026, Sibiya went to the hotel with the designated driver, who was appointed by the women, and he was allegedly unknown to them at the time.
The state alleges that Sibiya instructed the women to change their clothing before taking them to The Grand, a Sandton strip club.
It is further alleged that he bought them food and supplied them with alcohol at the venue before continuing to do so at the Garden Court Hotel.
The charge sheet alleges that one woman passed out and that Sibiya raped her while she was incapacitated.
It further alleges that, after leaving the hotel room, Sibiya told the other women that the woman (he allegedly raped) was “very nice” and still a virgin. These allegations form the basis of the trafficking-related count as well as a separate rape charge.
READ MORE: Shadrack Sibiya birthday invite, luxury bikes at Madlanga Commission
From police leadership to the dock
Following Sibiya’s appearance, the matter was postponed to Tuesday, September 29 2026. The state said Sibiya will be kept at Kgosi Mampuru prison because there is a possibility that he might escape.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said they are opposing bail.
“Our prosecutor was very clear that they are opposing bail based on the information before court and we believe that there will be interference. The investigating officers have taken it upon themselves to protect the witnesses because there might be other people who are working in cohorts to try and intimidate the witnesses.
- Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya was arrested on charges including sexual grooming, trafficking, and rape following a police raid on his home.
- Sibiya is accused of sexually grooming a teenage girl via WhatsApp and possessing and distributing nude images of her without her consent.
- The charges include an alleged rape of a woman at a Sandton hotel, linked to the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, involving incapacitation and coercion.
- Bishop Lazarus Maumela, present at Sibiya's arrest, claims the case is politically motivated due to a succession battle within the South African Police Service.
- Sibiya appeared in Randburg Magistrates’ Court and is being held at Kgosi Mampuru prison with bail opposed by the National Prosecuting Authority due to concerns over witness intimidation.
