Shadrack Sibiya, the suspended Deputy National Commissioner of Police, resigned from SAPS, according to the BBC, The Citizen, SABC News, IOL and eNCA, and the news emerged on Monday 12 October. SABC News reported that his contract was terminated with immediate effect and that a disciplinary case against him was open at the time. The Citizen said he was placed on special leave in July 2025 and later suspended. The BBC reported that he is charged with sexual offences and had denied grooming a 16-year-old and raping an 18-year-old. EWN reported on 1 October that his bail hearing was continuing at the Randburg Magistrates' Court. IOL's editor wrote that letting him resign instead of being dismissed raises questions about accountability. DailyDrop has not confirmed whether he is in custody or on bail now.
He was one of the most senior officers in the police service, and the allegations concern children and young women. How the service handles a senior officer accused of such offences affects public trust in SAPS.
If you report crime or deal with police, nothing changes today. Follow the court case, which is separate from his job and continues after the resignation.
The resignation ends his employment quickly and avoids a long internal process, which some will see as a clean break.
Critics, including IOL's editor, say he should have faced dismissal so that the service records its own finding.
Do not read the resignation as an outcome. The criminal case is what decides his guilt. Watch for the next court date and for a police statement on why the disciplinary process stopped.
BBC, Al Jazeera, The Citizen, SABC News, IOL, eNCA (12 Oct 2026); EWN (1 Oct 2026)
Deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya resigns while facing sexual-offence chargesDeputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya resigns while facing sexual-offence charges
The resignation was reported on Monday and SAPS ended his contract with immediate effect. He was already suspended and had denied the allegations, the BBC reported.
Shadrack Sibiya, South Africa's suspended Deputy National Commissioner of Police, has resigned from the South African Police Service (SAPS), according to the BBC, The Citizen, SABC News, IOL and eNCA. The news emerged on Monday 12 October. SABC News reported that his SAPS contract was terminated with immediate effect and that a disciplinary case against him was still open when he left. The Citizen recalled that he was first placed on special leave in July 2025 and was later suspended. The BBC reported that he is charged with sexual offences and had denied grooming a 16-year-old and raping an 18-year-old. Those allegations have not been tested at trial. DailyDrop could not confirm from two outlets whether he is in custody or out on bail today. The deputy national commissioner is one of the most senior posts in the service, directly below the National Commissioner, which is why a case against its holder drew wide attention. The Citizen's daily round-up led its Monday bulletin with the resignation, and eNCA ran a reaction piece headlined with a remark that it was "just the start of the momentum". DailyDrop has not been able to read what that remark referred to beyond the headline, so we do not build on it. Police have not, in the items we read, said how the vacancy will be filled or what happens to the open disciplinary file now that he has gone.
The manner of his exit is already being questioned. In a column, IOL's editor Lance Witten wrote that the dishonourable end to Sibiya's SAPS career, with the service letting him resign rather than face dismissal, raises hard questions about accountability and public trust. It helps to separate the two tracks. The disciplinary process decides whether an officer keeps his job, and it is run by his employer. The criminal case decides guilt, and it is run by the prosecution and the courts. A resignation ends the first track, and it does not end the second. EWN reported on 1 October that his bail hearing was continuing at the Randburg Magistrates' Court, and Daily Maverick covered the same application. None of the Monday reports DailyDrop saw gave the next court date, and none said who will now act in his post. Readers should also keep in mind that a charge is not a finding of guilt, and Sibiya has denied the allegations, according to the BBC. What to watch is whether police leadership explains why the disciplinary process stopped when he resigned, whether the court sets a date soon, and whether the service names a replacement. Readers who follow policing should treat today's news as the end of one process, not of the case, and should expect more comment from politicians and civil-society groups over the coming days.