The DA says lt.gen. Shadrack Sibiya must be permanently removed from the South African Police Service if he is found guilty of the serious charges of rape and sexual grooming levelled against him.
Lisa Schickerling, DA spokesperson on policing, says the party expects Sibiya to be fired if found guilty. According to her, the police cannot credibly claim to protect women and children if decisive action is not taken when serious allegations are made against a senior police official. Schickerling says Sibiya has already been suspended, but if he is found guilty of rape, he should not be able to remain in the police service. She says no rank, title or influential position should place anyone above accountability.
The DA says criminal accountability must also apply within the police and that Sibiya, if found guilty, must be permanently removed from the service to maintain public confidence in the police service. The party says South Africans deserve a police service that protects victims, upholds the law and acts without fear or favour.
Sibiya was arrested on 21 September and appeared in the Randburg magistrate's court on 22 September on five counts, including rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming of a child. The case was postponed to 29 September for a formal bail application, which the state says it will oppose. Sibiya has already been suspended in connection with previous investigations arising from the Madlanga Commission.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
