Senior South African police deputy charged with rape and child grooming allegations

Shadrack Sibiya, the deputy national police commissioner, was taken into custody after being charged with raping an 18-year-old woman at a Sandton hotel and grooming a 16-year-old girl via WhatsApp between 20 July and 3 August. He had been suspended earlier for alleged meddling in political killings probes and now faces accusations of rape, people trafficking and two counts of child grooming. After a brief appearance in Johannesburg court, he was transferred to a Pretoria detention centre, with a bail hearing set for 29 September as prosecutors labeled him a flight risk.

Acting national police commissioner Puleng Dimpane stressed that police must protect women and children and cannot be implicated in such conduct. Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia said the allegations must be investigated without fear or favour. The case emerges amid broader scrutiny of the police force by the Madlanga Commission, which is probing corruption and criminality within the service.