رفض إطلاق سراح نائب مفوض الشرطة الوطني السابق في جنوب أفريقيا: تهم جنسية وتحقيق فساد داخل الشرطة يسيران بالتوازي

According to what Africanews reported, the Randburg Magistrates' Court in South Africa has rejected the bail application of Shadrack Sibia, the former deputy commissioner of the National Police. The court found that he had failed to explain the exceptional circumstances in which he should remain in custody, and accepted the prosecution's position that his release could threaten witnesses. The prosecution also feared that he might flee South Africa and said it would oppose any appeal against the ruling.

The 59-year-old Sibia faces charges of raping an 18-year-old girl, human trafficking and sexually inducing a 16-year-old girl. He denies all the allegations and says the sexual contact with the 18-year-old woman was consensual. According to the prosecution's account of the case, he gave the woman alcohol at a hotel in Johannesburg and then raped her after she lost consciousness. Sibia was arrested in September and subsequently resigned from the police in October.

Prosecution spokesperson Keizer Ganijo said outside the court that the prosecution had submitted all the facts in its possession to the magistrate and was prepared to oppose the appeal. «Justice must be fully realized.» The magistrate also said there was evidence indicating that Sibia might be prepared to conceal evidence detrimental to him at any cost.

Africanews also reported that Sibia is undergoing a judicial commission investigation chaired by a retired judge. Its scope includes allegations of corruption within the police as well as his links to members of a suspected criminal network. According to the allegations heard by the commission, he had close relationships with the people concerned and had received substantial sums of money and gifts. These claims remain part of the ongoing investigation, and the report did not show that the commission had reached any final findings.

Sibia's previous position in the National Police leadership means that the case concerns not only individual criminal responsibility but also whether senior police officers can receive the same judicial scrutiny as other accused individuals in bail proceedings and subsequent trials. The Randburg court's refusal to grant bail ended the prospect of immediate release, but it did not rule on whether the criminal charges are substantiated. The investigations into alleged corruption within the police and Sibia's links to the suspected criminal network are also continuing.