Suspended deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya has expressed deep disappointment following a dramatic early-morning raid at his home in Tshwane on Thursday, during which police seized several electronic devices as part of an ongoing investigation.
“I am not angry, I am hurt. I feel like Joseph, whose brothers threw him into the pit and sold him,” Sibiya told journalists gathered at his property. “For my colleagues to turn on me the way they did, that is beyond me.”
Sibiya said the units that stormed his home were from KwaZulu-Natal, adding that he felt betrayed by fellow officers.
When asked if he was referring to national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola, Sibiya replied, “My colleagues betrayed me, including him. The last time I was with the national commissioner, we were fine. The last time I saw him, we were clear.”
He also confirmed that Masemola had visited his home “many times.”
According to , the pre-dawn raid began around 3 am and lasted several hours. Police confiscated multiple cellphones and a laptop from Sibiya’s residence.
Previously, has reported that Sibiya told journalists that he had been expecting the raid and felt he was under constant surveillance.
further reported that while police confirmed the search and seizure, they denied that Sibiya had been arrested.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said: “As SAPS, we are not aware of any person who has been arrested thus far, and that includes Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya.”
The search warrant—according to Sibiya’s legal team—listed defeating the ends of justice, money laundering, and corruption as the alleged offences under investigation. His lawyers are now threatening legal routes to challenge the raid.
previously reported that Thursday’s coordinated raids also targeted businessman Hangwani Morgan Maumela—a nephew of President Cyril Ramaphosa—and suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff, Cedrick Nkabinde.
The operations, involving elite SAPS, SIU and Crime Intelligence units, unfolded while both President Ramaphosa and Deputy President Paul Mashatile were out of the country, a coincidence that has fuelled political speculation.
Sibiya has vowed not to resign, telling that those who want him gone “must fire me.”
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