Sibiya flays police boss Masemola

Suspended deputy national police commissioner for crime detection Shadrack Sibiya intensified his defence before the Madlanga Commission this week, laying blame for the recent turmoil in the service on national commissioner Fannie Masemola.

- Nkateko Joseph Mabasa

It wasn't me: Lt. Gen. Shadrack Sibiya returned this week to testify before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

Sibiya rejected allegations that he unlawfully removed 121 case dockets from a task team on political killings after suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu disbanded it.

The intention behind the dismantling of the team was to strengthen the murder and robbery unit, Sibiya said, further denying any involvement in corruption or links to alleged criminal cartels.

Masemola previously told the commission set up to investigate allegations of corruption and political interference in policing that he and Sibiya had “points of contention” regarding oversight of the political killings task team (PKTT), particularly over whether crime intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo should continue supervising it.

This week Sibiya described that characterisation as “concerning and quite frankly disturbing”, insisting he was simply discharging his official duties when removing the 121 case dockets, which were later returned by acting police minister Firoz Cachalia.

Khumalo faced a failed disciplinary process and was arrested over allegations that he interfered with internal hiring processes, promoting an unqualified senior official. His arrest was seen as political interference and an attack on the PKTT’s efforts to clamp down on criminal cartels.

"My position was premised on the operational reality that the crime intelligence division was suffering the consequences of General Khumalo’s extensive involvement with the PKTT," Sibiya said, accusing Masemola of attempting to isolate him as an individual who acted outside proper operational procedures.

"Properly understood, the national commissioner’s complaint against me is not a bona fide complaint. It is contrived, selective in its focus and premised on an incomplete account of the events leading to the disestablishment of the PKTT."