Suspended police lieutenant-general Shadrack Sibiya resigned from the South African Police Service on Monday, 12 October 2026, soon after a disciplinary hearing against him began. The service has classed his exit as a dishonourable discharge.

The police service confirmed that his employment ended with immediate effect. It said the resignation, tendered through his legal representative, came shortly after the hearing started, and that because a disciplinary case was under way it was treated as a dishonourable discharge.

Sibiya remains in custody on five criminal charges in the Randburg Magistrate's Court, including rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming of a child, which the State alleges. He is presumed innocent and has not been convicted. His bail application continues on Tuesday, 13 October.

What the State alleges

Sibiya was arrested on 21 September 2026. Prosecutors allege the offences took place between May and August 2026. The charges, as reported, include rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming of a child. The State's case involves two complainants, one of them a child; neither can be identified.

According to a report of an affidavit filed in his bail application, Sibiya denies the rape allegation, saying intercourse with the complainant was consensual, and denies the grooming allegations. That account comes from a single report and has not been independently confirmed. The bail hearing is yet to conclude, so no court has made findings on any of the allegations.

The disciplinary hearing and the police statement

The police service said the disciplinary hearing “sat this morning” and that the resignation followed soon after proceedings began. Reports do not set out the disciplinary charges he faced.

The service said the exit was classed as a dishonourable discharge because disciplinary proceedings had already begun. What that means for any benefits he may have been entitled to has not been stated.

Background

Sibiya was dismissed in 2015 over his alleged role in the illegal rendition of Zimbabwean nationals. The Labour Court later ordered his reinstatement, finding the dismissal process procedurally unfair. In 2016 then Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba appointed him to lead the city's Group Forensic and Investigation Services. He returned to national policing in 2023, was promoted to lieutenant-general and served as deputy national commissioner for crime detection.

He was suspended in September 2025 after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused him of complicity with criminal networks, including ordering 121 case dockets removed from the province's Political Killings Task Team without authorisation. Sibiya has also been named in allegations before the Madlanga Commission, including that he received cash and improper gifts and leaked confidential police information. These are allegations made to the commission and are not findings.

What we do not yet know

  • The disciplinary charges he faced and whether the “dishonourable discharge” label can be challenged.
  • The outcome of the bail application, and what the State and the defence argue on 13 October.
  • Sibiya's response to the police classification of his exit and to the commission allegations; none was included in the reports we reviewed.
  • Needs a second confirmation: the content of his bail affidavit, and the commission allegations (each rests on one or two reports).