MADLANGA COMMISSION: Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni describes ‘avalanche’ of deaths, defends ‘jogging’ texts

Testifying at the Madlanga Commission on Monday, 21 September 2026, taxi boss and extortion accused Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni sought to distance himself from any criminal associations, saying he had never hired hitmen or izinkabi (contract killers) and had never had an improper relationship with SAPS members.

Sibanyoni is a former president of the South African Local and Long Distance Taxi and Bus Organisation and previously told the commission that there had been two attempts on his life, first in 2006 and then in 2022. He claimed that alleged “Big Five” cartel leader Jothan Msibi, who died in 2024, was behind the 2006 attempt, while Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and others have been charged with the 2022 attempt.

“I have experienced a devastating and sustained series of deaths among persons known to me. These deaths occurred in rapid succession, constituting what I can only describe as an ‘avalanche’ and extraordinary concentration of fatal incidents around my circle of associations and colleagues in the taxi association,” Sibanyoni told the commission on Monday.

Sibanyoni noted the 2022 murder of Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka and the attempted murder of Seunkie “DJ Vettys” Mokubung in 2024.

He maintained that his relationships with police officers and private security companies were legitimate and largely driven by the security threats he said surrounded him and his associates in the taxi industry.

He cited his relationship with Warrant Officer Bhokgolo Mahlangu, whom he described as a “homeboy” and serving police officer. Mahlangu was among those given access codes to Sibanyoni’s Centurion Golf Estate residence, where Sibanyoni said he moved his meetings after people in his circle were killed.

Sibanyoni said the estate access was a security measure, not evidence of an improper police relationship.

“The issuance of estate access codes to persons named, including Warrant Officer Mahlangu and others, must be understood in this security context. It does not evidence any impropriety: it evidences a practical security measure taken in response to a genuine threat environment,” he argued.

He also rejected reports that he had retired, telling the commission he remained active in business and still served as executive leader of the South African Local and Long Distance Taxi and Bus Organisation.

Sibanyoni faces charges of extortion and money laundering in the Kwaggafontein Magistrates’ Court in Mpumalanga. He allegedly extorted more than R2-million in protection fees from a mining businessman. His co-accused includes Oupa “Bafana” Sindane, a Pretoria based taxi boss, and two others.

Sibanyoni challenged the commission’s use of 675 pages of cellphone evidence seized during criminal proceedings, arguing that his private communications were repurposed without his knowledge or consent.

“These messages read in isolation would have created a wrong impression,” he said.

Sibanyoni contends that several messages in the commission’s evidence bundle were not communications between him and Sindane, but were in fact messages that had been forwarded to him.

‘Dogs are coming and jogging’ – 26 June 2025. Sibanyoni described the message as colloquial.