Sibiya fights back against bail rejection in rape case

Former police deputy commissioner Shadrack Sibiya has challenged his latest bail rejection.

Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers

Former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya has launched another legal fight to secure his release from custody, challenging the latest court decision denying him bail in his rape case.

Sibiya lodged papers on Tuesday afternoon to appeal the Randburg Magistrate’s Court’s October 20 ruling, which rejected his latest bail application.

He remains behind bars as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) prepares to oppose his challenge.

Reliable sources told IOL that Sibiya filed the appeal papers on Tuesday.

The NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago confirmed that it had received the documents and would fight the application.

“We have now received the appeal documents and we are opposing the matter,” the prosecuting authority told IOL.

The latest challenge follows repeated setbacks for Sibiya, whose legal team failed to convince the court that exceptional circumstances justified his release.

In refusing bail, the magistrate pointed to what the court considered serious risks involving witness intimidation and the possible destruction of evidence.

Among the most damaging allegations were threats allegedly directed at a state witness, the father of the 16-year-old complainant.

The court heard that Sibiya allegedly told the witness: “I will wipe out you and your entire family” and “I will deal with you easily.”

The magistrate described the alleged conduct as a dangerous pattern of behaviour, raising concerns about the potential safety of witnesses.

The court also considered allegations that Sibiya had wiped his cellphone before his arrest and instructed the teenager to delete explicit WhatsApp messages and videos he had requested from her.