Suspended senior police officer Richard Shibiri told the Madlanga Commission that some officers may have been promised career advancement in exchange for testifying negatively about him.
Shibiri, who previously served in the Organised Crime Unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS), said one of the witnesses who testified against him has since been promoted.
The witness, referred to as Witness A, testified in 2025 and accused Shibiri of attempting to suppress an investigation into the murder of Armand Swart, an engineer from Vereeniging. According to the testimony, Shibiri allegedly tried to bribe investigators working on the case.
Swart worked for a company that exposed corruption linked to a Transnet tender. Authorities later arrested suspected cartel boss Katiso “KT” Molefe, who is accused of orchestrating Swart’s killing.
Testifying before the commission on Wednesday morning, Shibiri said he was also in possession of a signed affidavit from Sergeant Daniel Motaung. In the affidavit, Motaung allegedly states that he was promised a promotion in exchange for providing adverse information about Shibiri.
“My intention in placing these facts is not to cast aspersions upon any individual, but to ensure the commission has the benefit of all relevant circumstances when evaluating the evidence before it,” Shibiri said.
The commission has also been examining allegations of factionalism within SAPS leadership. One faction is believed to be aligned with National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, while another is linked to Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya.
WhatsApp messages presented to the commission show Shibiri sharing news articles that were critical of officers associated with the Masemola camp with a colleague, Sergeant Fannie Nkosi.
Shibiri denied being aligned with any faction within the police service.
“For the 38 years I had in the police, I never belonged to any faction, and I will never belong to a faction now because I’m about to exit,” he told the commission.
He added that one article he shared was positive, reporting on the arrest of a person he believed had been a “menace,” while the others were simply news reports he had circulated.