Former Gauteng Hawks head Sibiya denies all Krejcir corruption claims
30 April 2018
Axed Gauteng Hawks head Shadrack Sibiya has denied all allegations of corrupt involvement with criminal kingpin Radovan Krejcir, according to a book, Ministry of Crime , written by journalist Mandy Wiener.
"I've never taken a cent from Radovan Krejcir," Sibiya tells Wiener.
"I would have been arrested and then, remember, Radovan Krejcir is a very dangerous man – he's not a man that you would go and meet and come out alive. We all knew his character and that he was a sick person, in mind. Meeting Radovan Krejcir, I wouldn't come clean; there was no point where I would meet with him alone."
Instead, suggests Sibiya, the allegations were part of a smear campaign emerging from clashes between the Hawks and crime intelligence.
"Remember, at some point in our fight with crime intelligence, during or after the arrest of [former police crime intelligence boss Richard] Mdluli and this and that, they also tried everything in their power to try to discredit me… It was called disinformazia."
During the ongoing Sam Issa murder trial in the South Gauteng High Court in 2017, accomplice-turned-State-witness Bulgarian 'Mike' Grigorov testified about alleged meetings between Krejcir and Sibiya at the Vaal and a plot in Pretoria.
He also said that Sibiya was one of the sources who had confirmed certain information to Krejcir that appeared to have allegedly led to Issa's death.
'I don't think he knows who he is talking about'
Grigorov also testified that Sibiya had offered advice that Cell C was the most difficult network for police to track – which led to underworld figures turning to this brand.
When Wiener asks Sibiya about this testimony, he declared that he had no knowledge of Grigorov.
"I don't even know him. I've never seen him; I've never met him. Even now, I don't think he knows who he is talking about."
Sibiya also says that he "didn't even know about Sam Issa".
Furthermore, Sibiya also denies allegations of involvement in the criminal underworld that were raised in tweets issued in February 2018 by a parody Twitter account with the handle @AdvBarryRoux.
"Sibiya told me in response to the tweets that he believes the account is being operated by someone closely aligned to the police, or possibly even someone within the faction of the SAPS that has been running a smear campaign against him," writes Wiener.
"He flatly denies the accusations, insisting he played no role in assisting Krejcir or his network. Again, he points to the fact that he had arrested Krejcir three times," she adds.
'My heart is bleeding every day'
Issa, a drug dealer, was gunned down in his car at an intersection outside Bedford Centre mall in October 2013. Police found at least 30 spent cartridges on the scene.
The State alleges that Issa was killed because he and Krejcir had argued over R500 000 which Issa had lent Krejcir for a bail application in another case, but Krejcir has denied this.
Sibiya was fired by former Hawks head Berning Ntlemeza in September 2015 for his alleged role in the illegal rendition of five Zimbabweans in 2010.
He now heads the City of Johannesburg's anti-corruption unit.
When speaking to Wiener, Sibiya tells her: "My heart is bleeding every day of my life. I worked hard."
He declares he was "pushed out" from his Hawks position.
"I'm telling you now, even now, there's no case against me… I have to fight because the police is the only thing I know," he is quoted as saying.
