Da Questions Shadrack Sibiya's Leave Of Absence Instead Of Suspension

The Democratic Alliance DA has questioned why the South African Police Service SAPS has asked its Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, to take leave of absence instead of suspending him.

Addressing reporters on Tuesday 15 July, National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola confirmed that Sibiya had been served with documents to take leave while processes are underway.

Asked what these processes are, Masemola replied, Investigations regarding what has been alleged.

This comes after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi , claimed Sibiya withdrew 121 case dockets from the Political Killings Task Team in March this year.

This was done without the authority of the National or the Provincial Commissioner. These case dockets have been sitting at the Head Office ever since without any investigation work done on them, Mkhwanazi alleged at a media briefing on 6 July.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has since established a commission of inquiry to investigate this and other allegations by Mkhwanazi. It now appears that the SAPS is also conducting its own internal investigation.

In a statement on Tuesday, DAs police spokesperson Ian Cameron said in the SAPS, placing someone on leave of absence instead of suspending them for a disciplinary transgression is highly irregular.

This distinction is not a technicality it is fundamental. A leave of absence is typically voluntary and granted for personal reasons, such as medical or family needs. It carries no disciplinary implications and is not defined anywhere in the SAPS Discipline Regulations, he explained.

A suspension, by contrast, is imposed by the employer, either as a precautionary or disciplinary measure where serious allegations arise.

Masemola can suspend SAPS members on full pay if they are alleged to have committed misconduct and if their presence could undermine an investigation or endanger safety or state property, according to the SAPS Discipline Regulations .