By Dylan Bettencourt
- Sibiya challenged his boss’s decision to put him on leave while corruption claims are being investigated properly.
- The court dismissed his case and ordered him to pay all legal costs for his failed legal challenge.
Deputy National Police Commissioner for Crime Detection Shadrack Sibiya has lost his court fight to return to work.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola put Sibiya on forced leave. Sibiya took the matter to the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
He asked the judges to overturn Masemola’s decision. He also wanted to stop any disciplinary action against him.
This week, the court dismissed his case. The judges ordered him to pay the legal costs.
The court found that Sibiya had not raised any constitutional issues. His argument was that Masemola had overstepped his powers during a normal disciplinary process.
The judges criticised Sibiya for making “unfounded allegations”. He had claimed that Masemola was running a “parallel investigation” to one already being handled by a judicial commission.
Former Constitutional Court judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga leads that commission.
“Taking all the above factors into consideration, the application is dismissed with costs,” the court ruled.
Masemola placed Sibiya on leave after serious accusations were made against him. KwaZulu-Natal police boss Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused him of corruption.
Mkhwanazi also claimed Sibiya was involved in shutting down the task team that investigates political killings.
Sibiya has denied the allegations. He said he still respects Masemola, despite their legal clash.
Masemola told the court that Sibiya would be allowed back to work if he was not suspended after the investigation wraps up. A decision will then be made on whether a disciplinary hearing is needed.
Pictured above: Shadrack Sibiya.
Image source: File
