South African police general faces rape, grooming charges

Suspended South African deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya appeared in court Tuesday on rape and sexual grooming charges, police and prosecutors said.

Police said Sibiya is accused of sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl between July and August 2026 and raping an 18-year-old teenager at a hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Kaizer Kganyago, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, said Sibiya faces five charges: rape, trafficking in persons, promoting the sexual grooming of a child and two counts of sexual grooming of a child. Kganyago said the case was postponed to September 29.

The arrest comes as South African authorities face pressure over gender-based violence after nine women were found murdered east of Johannesburg within two months. Official data says one in three women in South Africa experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime, and the government has declared gender-based violence a national disaster.

Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane said there could be no room in the police service for anyone alleged to abuse their position or violate the rights of women and children. Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia described the allegations as “disturbing” and said sexual offence allegations against police members must be investigated regardless of rank.

Sibiya was suspended last year after being accused of interfering in investigations into political killings. Earlier this year, he appeared before a judicial commission probing corruption and criminality within the security services, where he faced allegations of links to criminal cartels. The commission made recommendations to President Cyril Ramaphosa that Sibiya face criminal investigation.