Sibiya challenges questioning methods at the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry

Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner for Crime Detection Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya has taken exception to some of the questions posed by commissioners and one of the evidence leaders at the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry.

Sibiya was on Friday grilled on his decision to immediately disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) despite no such move being given the green light by his boss, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, and Senzo Mchunu, the police minister, who has now been on special leave for several months.

Evidence leader Adila Hassim SC asked Sibiya about an audit conducted on the cases investigated by the PKTT.

Sibiya retorted that the PKTT had been dealing with 51 traditional leadership-related cases, which included 44 of murder, one each of attempted murder and kidnapping, another two in which the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions was pending, as well as three court-going cases.

“Out of 51! And we are saying that is good work,” he queried.

Hassim shot back: “You will understand what you are saying is absolutely incorrect, and it’s gratuitous because you are intent on attacking the work of this task team or else you wouldn’t make that comment.”

She said there had been 46 of the 92 dockets that have been audited, with traditional leadership-related cases.

Commissioner Sandile Khumalo SC also complained that Sibiya was producing an unsigned audit document, which he said starts and ends nowhere.

“It’s just a document you’ve annexed that to your affidavit to this commission to justify your attack on the PKTT,” Khumalo said.

In response, Sibiya said it was unfortunate that Khumalo sees it as an attack on the PKTT.

Sibiya also expressed his displeasure at the line of questioning from the commissioners, and added that this worried him in response to a question by Commissioner Sesi Baloyi SC.

“It looks like everything that comes with Masemola and (Crime Intelligence Divisional Commissioner Lieutenant-General Dumisani) Khumalo is the gospel truth and it’s accepted and is the truth. And anything that comes that negates, that refutes or does not agree, is a claim,” he complained, adding that this was a problem to him.

In another outburst, Sibiya said: “You see, chair (commission chairperson, retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga), the line of questioning by the commissioners worries me in this sense: the chair asks me a specific question that I must respond to specifically and just when I’m about to, then Commissioner Baloyi says ‘before you respond’ (and) then comes up with a different angle and then also goes deeper into a different subject.”

Sibiya also maintained that KwaZulu-Natal’s Murder and Robbery Unit had the capacity to absorb the dockets withdrawn from the PKTT, despite later asking for a budget for the proposed new team to take over the PKTT dockets.

In his explanation, he said there was a need to capacitate the Murder and Robbery Unit to function and be effective, and that he was moving from the angle of the person responsible for capacitating the detectives nationwide.

According to Sibiya, the unit was required to have all the capacities and all the experience in its structures.

He is expected to resume giving evidence on Monday.

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