Sibiya gives Masemola until Friday to reinstate him or face court action

In a fresh escalation of a high-stakes dispute over his suspension, Deputy Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya has issued an ultimatum, insisting that Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola reinstate him or face court action. 

On Thursday, the demand is in a letter from Sibiya’s attorneys, Inan Levitt Attorneys, arguing that Masemola’s suspension handling breached established procedures and regulations.

The letter, addressed to Masemola, asserts that a notice dated on Wednesday purports to compel Sibiya to submit written representations about an already-imposed suspension or temporary transfer.

“Our client has provided us with a document titled ‘Notice of intended suspension or temporary transfer in terms of Regulation 10(2) of the South African Police Service Discipline Regulations, 2016’ (‘the notice’) which he had received at 20h30 on 20 August 2025.” 

The attorneys said the document “purports to call upon our client, who has already been suspended, to make written representations as to why he should not be suspended again or temporarily transferred.”

The lawyers accuse Masemola of acting unlawfully by pressing ahead with a fresh suspension process, “which is the exact abuse we foreshadowed in our interdict application.” 

They argue that this new notice effectively concedes the SAPS’s procedural failings and that continuing to pursue it would be “mala fides and/or constructive contempt.” 

They added that Masemola’s actions could undermine the court’s ability to grant relief and invited the court to draw adverse inferences.

Sibiya demanded immediate steps, including that Masemola withdraw the new notice by Friday, at 10:00, withdraw his current opposition to Sibiya’s application, pay the applicant’s costs, and consent to the relief sought. 

He warned that, if not withdrawn, the attorneys will seek further court orders to interdict the new suspension process and to pursue a finding of constructive contempt, including a personal and punitive costs order on an attorney-and-client scale.

“This letter is sent with prejudice, and it, together with any replies thereto, may be disclosed to the court hearing this matter as necessary and appropriate.”

Sibiya’s legal challenge to his suspension was already in motion a month prior, when he approached the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, asserting that Masemola had admitted to breaching proper procedures in the suspension process. 

thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za

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