SOUTH AFRICA'S DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS AMID RAPE CHARGES

South Africa's deputy police chief, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, has resigned from the force. His lawyer submitted a resignation letter at the start of a disciplinary hearing on Monday, a police spokesperson said. Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said in a post on the social media platform X that Sibiya's departure was treated as a "dishonourable discharge" because he was still facing disciplinary proceedings when he resigned. Sibiya denies charges that he sexually groomed a 16-year-old girl and raped an 18-year-old woman, as well as a charge of human trafficking. He says he did have sex with the 18-year-old but maintains it was consensual.

Sibiya has been held in custody since his arrest last month over the allegations. One report said his bail application had been postponed to 13 October. He had already been suspended from his post since September last year over separate allegations of corruption and links to organised crime bosses, which he denies. Those allegations emerged during testimony to the Madlanga Commission, a judicial inquiry into alleged collusion between police officers and criminals. He was accused of receiving cash and 20 impalas from an alleged criminal kingpin in exchange for a police contract, and of interfering with investigations into political killings in KwaZulu-Natal province.

President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Madlanga Commission after the KwaZulu-Natal police chief accused the then police minister, Senzo Mchunu, of working with criminal gangs at a public briefing. Mchunu denies the allegations against him and has been suspended. The commission has spent the past year examining allegations of collusion between police officers and organised crime figures. Sibiya's resignation does not affect the criminal charges against him, and he remains in custody pending the outcome of his bail application.