09/10/2026
🚨 WMACA CONDEMNS DEGRADING REMARKS MADE DURING SHADRACK SIBIYA BAIL PROCEEDINGS
*A fair defence must never come at the expense of a survivor’s dignity.*
Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) expresses its grave concern over remarks made by defence counsel Advocate Amanda Nel during the bail proceedings of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.
Sibiya faces serious allegations, including r**e, sexual grooming of a minor and human trafficking.
WMACA Advocacy has been monitoring and attending these proceedings since the matter was brought to our attention. We are deeply concerned by the gravity of the allegations and the evidence presented by the State during the ongoing bail hearing.
Of particular concern was Advocate Nel’s suggestion, during questioning of investigating officer Detective Sergeant Ndlovu, that an 18-year-old complainant who was allegedly unconscious could have awakened and expressed gratitude for sexual in*******se.
Although the advocate subsequently retracted her remarks, the damage caused by such statements cannot simply be undone.
⚖️ WMACA BOARD MEMBER TAKES ACTION
Peter van Niekerk, a member of WMACA’s Board of Directors and legal adviser, with more than 40 years of legal experience, has taken the initiative to raise concerns about the defence advocate’s conduct with the relevant legal professional regulatory structures, including the Legal Practice Council.
The Bar Council has acknowledged receipt of his statement and indicated that the matter is being looked into.
Van Niekerk has strongly condemned the remarks, describing them as:
“Appalling, degrading, and a betrayal of the legal profession’s duty to protect vulnerable witnesses.”
His intervention raises an important question about the ethical responsibilities of legal practitioners and the limits of adversarial questioning when dealing with allegations of sexual violence.
A robust legal defence is a constitutional right. The humiliation and secondary victimisation of complainants should never be accepted as an inevitable consequence of that right.
For WMACA, this matter raises broader concerns about how complainants, particularly children and young people, are treated within South Africa’s criminal justice system.
The allegations against a senior police official entrusted with upholding the law and protecting the public are exceptionally serious. While the accused remains entitled to the presumption of innocence and a fair trial, the evidence presented during these proceedings warrants careful scrutiny and accountability through the judicial process.
Justice must never come at the cost of human dignity.
Photo credit: 📸 Morning SA
