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Suspended Police Deputy Commissioner Linked to Convicted Car Thief, Commission Hears
The Madlanga commission has been presented with startling evidence linking suspended police deputy commissioner for crime detection, Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya, to a convicted car thief. The commission heard how Sibiya was seen driving a bakkie belonging to Stuart James Scharnick, a man with a long history of criminal activity.
Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, head of police intelligence, presented the commission with video and photographic evidence of Sibiya driving Scharnick's vehicle. He revealed that Scharnick had a staggering 34 cases against him, resulting in 18 convictions, 11 withdrawals, and five acquittals. The exact details of Scharnick's sentencing, including the duration and location of his imprisonment, remain unclear.
Adding to the intrigue, Scharnick also accompanied Sibiya to a hearing of the parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating allegations of criminality within the criminal justice system, allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. A photograph presented to the commission showed Scharnick sitting behind Sibiya at the Cape Town hearing last month.
Khumalo argued that the relationship between Scharnick and Sibiya demonstrated the alarming infiltration of criminals into the police service, making the work of honest junior officials incredibly difficult. “It makes the life of those who want to get through these cases very difficult because, for them to come close to [solving the cases], they must first go through [Sibiya]. With this [evidence], we are confirming and proving the challenges that we are facing,” he stated.
Further implicating Sibiya's office, Khumalo presented footage of a police sergeant, identified only as "Nkosi" from Sibiya’s office, entering the home of alleged criminal cartel member, Katiso "KT" Molefe, in November 2024. Molefe is currently facing multiple counts of murder.
The visit occurred just 10 days before Molefe's arrest on December 6, 2024, for the murder of Vaal engineer Armand Swart.
Khumalo described the footage: “[He is seen] carrying a white paper bag. Unfortunately for us, it’s not transparent, so you can’t see what type of chocolate is in there,” he quipped, adding: “But he [had] a bag that didn’t look like it was heavy, but it had some contents. We’ll use lots of analytical minds to check what it is that you can carry in such a carrier bag with value, but it’s not that heavy. [It was] like he just came in to collect something that was already packed and waiting for pickup.” The visit lasted less than 10 minutes.
Last week, Witness C testified before the commission that Nkosi acted as a middleman between Sibiya and tenderpreneur Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala, who is accused of attempted murder, and collected money on Sibiya's behalf.
Khumalo explained that criminal cartels actively recruit police officials to carry out their mandates and provide them with crucial information. "The recruitment by the organised groups in the form of syndicates or cartels is very targeted. They will want to have more of their members [to] have experience or still be serving within the criminal justice system; that includes SAPS," Khumalo said. He added that the arrest of Joburg police officer Michael Tau for Swart’s murder was not surprising in this context.
Tau is alleged to be the hitman who was arrested in Bramley, Joburg, hours after Swart was shot 23 times. Swart's company had flagged an irregular multimillion-rand Transnet tender. Police found 15 used cartridges in Tau's car.
Molefe, Tau, and their co-accused also face charges for other high-profile murders, including that of DJ Sumbody (real name Oupa Sefoka), and his two bodyguards, Sibusiso Mokoena and Sandile Myeza, in November 2022.
The guns used in the murders of Swart, DJ Sumbody, Myeza, and Mokoena have been linked to several other crimes, including cash-in-transit heists and the attempted murder of Matlala's ex-lover, actress Tebogo Thobejane.
Khumalo revealed that the December 6, 2024, raid to arrest Matlala required significant resources. "We had to mobilise extra special task force members from outside Gauteng," Khumalo told the commission.
"The main reason for this is because we did a threat assessment on Mr Matlala and, based on the profiles of his more than 20 protectors, we discovered that his protectors are former [police] special task force members."
"We were not going to do our work properly, if we only sent a combat team to Matlala’s house that was less trained than what we were going to face.”
The Madlanga commission's investigation continues to uncover a web of alleged corruption and criminal activity within the South African Police Service. The evidence presented against Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya raises serious questions about the integrity of law enforcement and the potential for criminal influence at the highest levels. The commission's findings are eagerly awaited.
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