MADLANGA COMMISSION: ‘Cele shrugged off critical warning’ — Joe Ferrari talks taxi killings and a cartel

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> Extortion-accused businessman Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that he put himself at risk when he gave the police minister at the time, Bheki Cele, critical information about taxi violence. Cele, meanwhile, knows suspected crime kingpin Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, accused of trying to have Sibanyoni murdered.

Three months before there was an attempt on his life, taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni sent a message to the police minister at the time, Bheki Cele, warning about a “cartel” causing havoc in the taxi industry.

Sibanyoni testified about this at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday, 28 August 2026.

He added that he had warned Cele that senior South African Police Service (SAPS) officers were involved in taxi industry violence, but said Cele had asked what he was expected to do about this.

MADLANGA COMMISSION | Joe "Ferrari" Sibanyoni says he and the late taxi boss Jothan "King Mswazi" Msibi had agreed to retire at the age of 60. However, he says Msibi later told him, "we die in the business", a remark he interpreted as a threat. pic.twitter.com/jItdHJsAHw

He spoke confidently, at times passionately, and repeatedly distanced himself from any notion that he was a crime boss as some have alleged.

Sibanyoni, meanwhile, is facing charges in an extortion case involving more than R2-million and a Mpumalanga businessman who was allegedly targeted.

During his testimony, Sibanyoni went into granular detail about his background, his confirmed and denied associations with various individuals previously named at the commission, and the volatile taxi industry, shedding some light on notorious aspects of it.

“The nickname arose originally from my lifestyle and personality over many years,” Sibanyoni said.

“It is a social nickname. It carries no criminal connotation whatsoever.”

Sibanyoni on Friday told the Madlanga Commission he was also sometimes referred to as “godfather”, but insisted it was a social term and form of respect.

He said he had been in business linked to the taxi industry, property and community development for 42 years.

Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi – the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner who in 2025 first raised the alarm about a cartel, later identified as the Big Five, that he alleged had infiltrated the state. His accusations sparked the creation of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni – Taxi boss accused of extortion. He said that in 2022 he messaged the police minister at the time, Bheki Cele, about violent taxi industry ructions. Three months after that, there was an attempt on Sibanyoni’s life.