A father who says his teenage daughter was groomed by a senior police officer has told a court he holds nearly 300 recordings of that officer’s meetings, along with photographs, vehicle-camera footage and vehicle-tracking information, all kept in case anything happened to him.
The man, identified in court only as Mr M, is the father of a 16-year-old girl whom suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya is accused of sexually grooming. He is also alleged to have previously worked as Sibiya’s bodyguard. The details emerged in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, where Sibiya’s bail application is being heard.
In WhatsApp messages sent to Sibiya’s wife, Sizakele Dlamini, Mr M explained why he had built up the archive. “Because of what happened I started keeping records of events and interactions which I believe could become relevant. I have photographs, messages, locations records, documents and records relating to various meetings and conversations that took place while I was present,” he told her.
His motive, he said, was simple self-protection. “I did this because I felt that I needed to protect myself and preserve the truth of what happened.” He described documenting his interactions with Sibiya, including meetings, conversations, locations and people allegedly collecting money.
The father also told Dlamini he had taken steps to ensure the material would survive him. “Somebody already has this file for me, this USB. If anything happened for me to die by any format, that USB will be given to the right people.” He said he trusted the person holding the USB with his life.
At the heart of his account is his daughter. “All the conversation, all the criminal activity he was negotiating has been obtained in my USB. I just wish he wouldn’t have just gone that route. That’s my child and I [will] do everything and anything to fight for the rights of my child,” he said.
In the same messages, Mr M referred to alleged links between Sibiya and alleged criminal figures, including Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and Brown Mogotsi, as well as certain police officers. “He denies working with me. I’m not gonna deny anything. I’m gonna have to give them every information pertaining to all the cases, all the people who disappeared, all [of] Cat Matlala involvement and all the senior officials and politicians. I’m not gonna deny anything,” he said.
He added that he had been warned Sibiya was dangerous, and that this was part of why he had placed the records in another person’s keeping. “I preserved information for my own protection. I’m not saying this to threaten anyone.” He said he would hand information to the authorities if his name continued to be tarnished during the bail application and trial. He also pointed to a specific moment of alarm: “I will also share with you the information relating to what happened in January. That was the point at which I became particularly concerned and decided that it needed to start preserving record keeping.”
Meanwhile, the state has charged Sibiya with sexual grooming, rape and human trafficking, among other charges. Prosecutors allege that between July and August 2026, Sibiya used WhatsApp to groom Mr M’s teenage daughter, soliciting explicit videos and instructing her to keep their interactions secret. He also faces allegations relating to an 18-year-old woman whom the state says was trafficked and raped at a Sandton hotel in May, with alcohol involved and the rape allegedly committed while she was unconscious. His defence maintains that encounter was consensual.
The court heard one recording in which Sibiya is allegedly heard confronting and threatening Mr M after the criminal case was opened, telling him he could “deal with [him] very quickly and easily”. Sibiya’s lawyers argue the recording was taken out of context and arose from a personal dispute over Mr M’s own conduct, not an attempt to intimidate a witness.
The court also heard a recorded phone call allegedly made to Mr M by Bishop Azwihangwi Maumela, an associate of Sibiya. The state alleges Maumela contacted Mr M shortly after the arrest to confront him and pressure his family into dropping the charges. Defence advocate Estelle Killian argued that Sibiya did not ask Maumela to speak for him. “He says Mr Maumela is a politician and he will talk at every opportunity he can get. It is political-speak that we are going to retaliate. It does not mean we are going to take up arms,” she said.
The defence stated that Sibiya’s wife felt threatened and was pressured to tell her husband to stop tarnishing Mr M’s name in court. “He is not threatening her but he is threatening the husband and he is threatening the way these proceedings are continuing. And he is essentially telling her that if she doesn’t stop the manner in which he is being portrayed in this court, then he will divulge the information,” Sibiya’s lawyer said.
The state prosecutor welcomed the WhatsApp texts from Mr M being placed before the court, saying they could strengthen the prosecution’s case. Investigators also told the court that Matome Johannes Rasekgokga, a police officer supporting Sibiya’s bail application, allegedly leaked sensitive case information to Sibiya after Mr M introduced the officer to him.
The bail application has been postponed until Tuesday, 13 October, when the state is expected to provide affidavits from Mr M and the 18-year-old complainant.