A reported R2.5 million ransom demand and claims that members of the Hawks were contacted following an alleged kidnapping have emerged in an audio recording played at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court during former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya’s bail application.
The 25-minute recording reportedly captures a conversation between a complainant identified as “Mr M”, the father of a 16-year-old girl, and businessman Serge Cabonge.
In the recording, a speaker describes how he allegedly profiled a telephone number linked to an individual said to be connected to the Madlanga Commission before learning about a reported kidnapping.
The speaker further claims that a man identified as Mohammed had allegedly been targeted by kidnappers who demanded R2.5 million.
According to the recording, Mohammed allegedly contacted the speaker and offered him R1 million to help secure his release.
The speaker then claims to have contacted his colleagues in the Hawks to alert them to the alleged kidnapping.
“I called my Hawks guys to tell them there’s a guy that’s been kidnapped,” the speaker says in the recording.
The conversation raises questions about the circumstances surrounding the alleged kidnapping and the reported involvement of individuals linked to law enforcement. However, the claims contained in the recording have not, by themselves, established wrongdoing by any of the individuals mentioned.
The audio was played as part of Sibiya’s ongoing bail application. He was arrested last month at a strip club in Sandton and faces charges including the alleged sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl, rape, human trafficking and contravention of the Firearms Control Act.
The allegations against Sibiya remain before the courts, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The bail proceedings continue at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court.