National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola placed Sibiya on leave of absence
Deputy National Police Commissioner for Crime Detection, Shadrack Sibiya, has failed in his attempt to return to work.
Sibiya went to the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria after National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola placed him on leave of absence while an investigation was underway.
He asked the court to review and overturn Masemola’s decision and also applied for an interdict to prevent any further disciplinary action.
Sibiya’s leave of absence review case fails
The matter was heard on 3 September before a full bench of the high court, which reserved judgment.
Almost a week later, on Tuesday, the court dismissed Sibiya’s application.
In its judgment, the court said Sibiya had not challenged any law or “state conduct” on constitutional grounds.
Instead, his claim was that Masemola had gone beyond his powers in a normal disciplinary process.
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The court also said Sibiya had made “overbroad and unfounded allegations” that Masemola was disregarding the judicial commission of inquiry led by former Constitutional Court (ConCourt) judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, by launching what the deputy commissioner called a “parallel investigation”.
“Taking all the above factors into consideration, in the exercise of our discretion, we find no cogent reasons to depart from the general rule.
“ln the premises the following order is made: The application is dismissed with costs,” the judgment reads.
Mkhwanazi allegations
Masemola’s decision to remove Sibiya from duty followed corruption allegations by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who accused him of being a criminal.
Mkhwanazi further claimed Sibiya played a leading role in the disbandment of the South African Police Service’s (Saps) political killings task team.
Sibiya has denied the accusations.
The deputy commissioner also received a notice warning him of possible suspension.
Masemola argued in court last Wednesday that Sibiya could return to his duties if he was not suspended.
He explained that once the investigation is completed, a decision will be made on whether to hold a disciplinary hearing and whether or not to suspend him
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