Shadrack Sibiya Claims He Followed Orders From General Fannie Masemola’s Office to Disband PKTT
- Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya testified about his role in the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT)
- The suspended Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection claimed that he was acting on orders he received
- General Fannie Masemola previously claimed that Sibiya was pushing for the immediate disbandment of the PKTT
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Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
WESTERN CAPE – Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya has denied being responsible for pushing for the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), insisting that the order came from General Fannie Masemola’s office.
Sibiya, the suspended Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, made the claim before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on 13 October 2025.
The committee is probing allegations of corruption and political interference within the criminal justice system following allegations made by Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Sibiya claims the order came from National Commissioner’s office
During his testimony, Sibiya disputed claims that he was pushing for the disbandment of the PKTT, claiming that he was only acting on instructions from Masemola’s office.
"On 3 January 2025, an email was addressed to my office by Brigadier Lethoko from the Office of the National Commissioner, which directed me, the DNC for Crime Detection, to communicate the deactivation of the PKTT to the relevant team,” he said.
He added that his officer was requested to submit a close-up report for Masemola's consideration and sign-off to the Minister.
Sibiya denies disbandment related to Brown Mogotsi or Vusimuzi Matlala
The Deputy National Commissioner also discussed why Brown Mogotsi and Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala knew about the disbandment.
In messages between the two, Mogotsi told Matlala that the PKTT that was harassing him was disbanded and that the dockets would be sent to Sibiya. Sibiya said that the announcement of the disbandment was leaked to the media, which could explain why Mogotsi and Matala knew about it. He also said he did not know why the duo mentioned his name.
What did Masemola claim about Sibiya?
During his testimony in front of the committee on 9 October 2025, Masemola claimed that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu issued a directive for the disbandment of the PKTT in December 2024 while he was on leave.
Masemola said that he put the directive out of his mind because he was on leave, and ignored it when he returned, until Sibiya brought the letter to his office.
“When I came back, Sibiya told me about the directive from Mchunu and requested my signature to implement the disbandment of PKTT. I looked at it and told him I was not in agreement with the immediate disbandment because I didn’t know what the reasons were.”
Masemola said Sibiya was then pushing for the disbandment to happen immediately, despite not even having anything to do with the team.
Sibiya shares funny story about Mogotsi
Briefly News reported that Lieutenant-General Sibiya told Parliament about a meeting he had with Brown Mogotsi in Cape Town.
Sibiya explained that Mogotsi met him for breakfast at a hotel in January, but left without paying his bill.
South Africans were amused by Sibiya's story, sharing their thoughts about Mogotsi's actions.
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Source: Briefly News
