News24 | Madlanga Commission denies allegations of interference, vows to investigate Cabonge claims

Former Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. The Madlanga Commission has denied allegations of interference in a criminal investigation made in a voice recording attributed to “blesser” Serge Cabonge.

Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu

• The Madlanga Commission has denied allegations of interference in a criminal investigation made in a voice recording attributed to “blesser” Serge Cabonge.
• The commission says no commissioners or evidence leaders have met, spoken to or know Cabonge.
• The commission will engage Cabonge, obtain a statement and investigate the matter.

The Madlanga Commission has rejected allegations that its members sought to interfere with a criminal investigation, calling the claims “false, incoherent and not supported by any facts”.

The commission’s response follows allegations contained in a voice recording attributed to self-proclaimed “blesser” Serge Cabonge, which was played during former deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya’s bail proceedings on Tuesday.

In the recording, Cabonge, who had previously been mentioned at the commission, allegedly claimed he knew someone who “sits in the front” at the Madlanga Commission and implied that senior representatives of the judicial commission sought to interfere with a criminal investigation.

This person, whom he identified as a “Judge President” in “one of the biggest courts” and whose name he did not mention, needed him to make a criminal case involving his girlfriend’s daughter disappear.

The “Judge President” owed him a favour after his assistance, he said, and would protect him from testifying before the commission.

Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said the commission wanted to state clearly and categorically that the allegations were false.

READ | ‘He sent people to kill Tebogo’: Court hears recording linking Sibiya to Thobejane plot

“The allegations are false, incoherent and are not supported by any facts,” Michaels said.

“None of the commissioners or evidence leaders have met, spoken to or know Mr Cabonge.”

The commission issued an initial brief statement on 13 October addressing the allegations.

Michaels said the commission would engage Cabonge and obtain a statement from him and would investigate the matter in accordance with the commission’s terms of reference.

He said:

The commission urges caution in treating such allegations publicly.

The recording played in court allegedly captured Cabonge claiming that Sibiya sent hitmen to assassinate actress Tebogo Thobejane.

Sibiya is facing charges of sexual grooming of a child, promoting sexual grooming of a child, rape and trafficking in persons.

Blesser Serge Cabonge, who has previously been mentioned at the commission.

Gallo Images/Oupa Bopape

Shadrack Sibiya.

Yolanda Mdzeke/News24

It is alleged that he sexually groomed a 16-year-old girl between July and August this year and raped an 18-year-old girl at a Sandton hotel in May.

He appeared before the Madlanga Commission in June 2026, where he testified about various allegations that are separate from the matter in court.

Michaels said the commission would resume public hearings on 9 November 2026.