City Press reports that former Gauteng Hawks head Shadrack Sibiya has been appointed deputy national police commissioner responsible for detectives.

Sibiya, who returned to the police service following a stint at the City of Johannesburg as head of forensics after his appointment by former mayor Herman Mashaba, is expected to oversee all investigations of the police service. Sibiya was fired in 2015 by then acting head of the Hawks Berning Ntlemeza, following a disciplinary inquiry into his alleged role in the illegal deportation of five Zimbabwean nationals in 2010. In 2020, the Labour Court found that his dismissal had been procedurally and substantially unfair, but it did not order that he be reinstated, prompting him to take the matter on appeal. Following a marathon battle to clear his name, the Labour Appeal Court last year ordered that he be reinstated to his post.   Speaking after the judgment, Sibiya said: “It [the Labour Appeal Court ruling] means a lot to me and my family. I feel vindicated. I really want to thank our courts ... you can see that our courts work, and our justice system really works.” Sibiya’s name has been referenced during the ongoing murder trial of the five men accused of killing former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa.   Sibiya and others are accused of having contaminated the crime scene and of protecting some people linked to the murder. But, Sibiya pointed out that he had many years’ experience as a police officer and would not contaminate a crime scene.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Abram Mashego at City Press

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