Mesuli Mlandu, a special projects adviser in the City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) office of the city manager, testified about the allegedly unlawful employment of suspended deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya while he was employed by the city.
Mlandu made his submission on Thursday before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.
His appearance followed previous testimony by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who referenced Mlandu’s findings to support claims of systemic corruption, irregular expenditure and the receipt of millions in gratifications related to Sibiya’s appointments.
The testimony detailed Sibiya’s controversial tenure within the city’s forensic department starting in 2017.
Mlandu testified he uncovered the irregularities through whistle-blowers, document reviews and internal data analysis after joining the city. He said since 2019 he has been dealing with the alleged rogue and unlawful activities of Sibiya before they became a national concern.
His investigation focused on Sibiya’s role as the group head of group forensic and investigation services (GFIS).
According to Mlandu, former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba and former CoJ group head for legal services Mbulelo Ruda allegedly committed fraud valued at about R3.5m.
His testimony alleged:
- Sibiya failed a competency assessment on November 22 2017, and was deemed unsuitable even for the junior position of unit head.
- Despite this, a report signed by Ruda and Mashaba in January 2017 facilitated Sibiya’s occupation of a senior group head position.
- Sibiya allegedly used a “bogus title” to exercise authority that was never approved by the city council.
Mlandu alleged Sibiya, former mayor Mpho Phalatse and former council speaker Vasco da Gama were involved in offences totaling R7.9m. The claims relate to Sibiya’s alleged unauthorised procurement and deployment of spyware.
He claimed when the activities were discovered, officials failed to report them to law enforcement, choosing instead to “conceal the crime” via a media statement.
“Sibiya, Mashaba and Ruda allegedly committed corruption resulting in about R580m in irregular expenditure by facilitating Sibiya’s continued role through a bogus appointment and unapproved delegations,” Mlandu told the committee.
He described the recruitment process as fundamentally broken. Sibiya applied for a unit head position in 2016. He was interviewed on November 7 and appointed the next day.
“By January 2017, Sibiya was masquerading as a head of department (HOD),” Mlandu alleged.
“He was signing reports as an HOD despite being appointed as a unit head and was eventually moved into the group head role without any formal recruitment process.”
When asked who authorised this, Mlandu claimed Sibiya was appointed via a report signed by Mashaba, despite executive mayors lacking the statutory power to make such appointments.
The whistle-blower claims gained momentum in 2022 when a legal firm’s preliminary review found prima facie evidence of fraudulent employment. The firm recommended Sibiya be suspended and his contract rescinded.
However, when evidence leader Norman Arendse asked if these actions were taken, Mlandu responded: “That’s the point. The moment the report was handed to then-mayor Phalatse, it was blocked from entering council. This allowed Sibiya the opportunity to launch a high court application to set the report aside.”
Mlandu accused the National Prosecuting Authority, the public protector and ministers of mishandling incriminating evidence.
He criticised national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola and former police minister Bheki Cele for failing to conduct proper vetting before Sibiya returned to the SA Police Service in 2023.
Sibiya left the CoJ in 2022 and returned to the police service in 2023, where he was promoted to lieutenant-general and deputy national commissioner for crime detection. He is on suspension pending the parliamentary inquiry into allegations of interfering in police cases.
Mlandu concluded his testimony with a plea for accountability: “Someone must grab him (Sibiya) by the jacket and present him to a judge.”
TimesLIVE
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