Suspended deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya is believed to have been a regular visitor to The Grand, an upmarket strip club in Sandton, Johannesburg, where one dancer claimed he had a preference for Russian women.
Sibiya, 59, was arrested at the club on Monday in connection with allegations that he raped an 18-year-old woman, trafficked people for sexual exploitation and sexually groomed a 16-year-old girl. He appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court this week and is due back on Tuesday for a bail application.
The allegations have drawn renewed attention to the Sandton club where Sibiya is accused of taking the 18-year-old complainant on the night at the centre of the rape case. A dancer at the establishment said she had seen him there at least three times a month.
“He usually comes in at about 1am. He spends a lot of time with three Russian women. He also pays them to leave the club with him, and that can cost about R15,000.”
The dancer said it was not unusual for patrons to take performers away from the club.
“I have also seen a few black women [with him], and he was buying them alcohol. I think the bill stood at R10,000,” she said.
Entry to the club costs between R600 and R1,000, while the buffet costs an additional R1,500.
What the charge sheet alleges
The charge sheet sets out the state’s account of Sibiya’s alleged interaction with the 18-year-old, identified as MC, on the night of 16 May 2026.
MC was staying at the Sandton Garden Court hotel with two friends, identified in the court papers as BQ and NM. The three women arranged an outing and asked a man identified as Mr M to assist them with transport and accommodation.
The state alleges that Mr M arrived to collect the women with Sibiya, who was not known to them. According to the charge sheet, Sibiya then told the women to change their clothes and said he would take them to a classy place.
The charge sheet states: “The accused, having heard that they were going out, instructed the girls to change their clothing and told them he would take them to a classy place. He took them to The Grand, which is a strip club in Sandton. He bought them food and plied them with liquor, and continued doing so at the Garden Court hotel.”
The state alleges that MC later passed out. Prosecutors allege that the rape occurred after she lost consciousness. When Sibiya allegedly left the hotel room, the state claims he boasted that she was “very nice and still a virgin”.
The rape charge is one of five counts facing Sibiya. The other charges relate to allegations involving the 16-year-old girl and the alleged trafficking of three people for sexual exploitation.
The 16-year-old, identified as ZM, allegedly became acquainted with Sibiya after her father, who worked with the senior police officer, gave Sibiya her contact details on or about 18 July 2026 so that transport arrangements could be made.
The state alleges that Sibiya befriended ZM on WhatsApp, sent her sexually explicit images and persuaded her to send material to him. He faces one charge of promoting the sexual grooming of a child and two charges of sexually grooming a child in connection with these allegations.
The trafficking allegation concerns the same outing involving MC, BQ and NM. According to the charge sheet, Sibiya “did unlawfully and intentionally deliver and/or recruit and/or transport” the three women for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Prosecutors allege that this happened through the abuse of vulnerability, deception and/or the abuse of power. The court papers contain a discrepancy about the date linked to this charge. One section refers to 16 July 2026, while the detailed account of the outing to The Grand and the Garden Court hotel gives the date as 16 May 2026.
The allegations have not been tested in court, and Sibiya is presumed innocent unless found guilty.
Earlier controversy inside the police service
Sibiya is also facing intense scrutiny over his conduct while serving in the police service.
In February, he was questioned over the abrupt and unexplained transfer of 121 investigations into political killings from KwaZulu-Natal to the police’s national head office. KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi strongly criticised the intervention, triggering a public feud between the two senior officers.
Mkhwanazi later barred Sibiya from operating in the province and said there could be “no peace between a criminal and a police officer”.
The Madlanga commission subsequently examined allegations surrounding Sibiya’s relationships with controversial figures and his alleged financial links to people under investigation. The commission heard claims involving suspicious financial links, tender payments and relationships between Sibiya and businessman and alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
One allegation was that Matlala gave Sibiya 20 impala buck.
In its report to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the commission recommended that criminal investigations be opened into Sibiya’s conduct and that disciplinary action be taken against him.
Possible return for Masemola
While Sibiya’s criminal case moves towards a bail application, another major development is expected in the police leadership structure.
Ramaphosa is likely to announce that suspended national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola will return to work on 1 October. The expected move follows the National Prosecuting Authority’s withdrawal of four charges against Masemola under the Public Finance Management Act.
The development could reshape the leadership of the police service at a time when Sibiya’s arrest, the allegations against him and the earlier disputes over political-killing investigations have placed senior officers under exceptional public scrutiny.