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. Mlandu alleged Sibiya, former mayor Mpho Phalatse and former council speaker Vasco da Gama were involved in offences totaling R7.9m.
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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.
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