Sibanyoni Tells Madlanga Commission He Warned Bheki Cele About Criminal Cops in Taxi Cartel

• Feared taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on 28 August 2026
• The taxi tycoon and businessman discussed how he was feeding information to then Minister of Police, Bheki Cele
• The businessman also told the Commission about an attempt made on his life in August 2022

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

GAUTENG — Taxi boss Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry about his conversations with Minister of Police Bheki Cele about criminal networks in the taxi industry before an attempt was made on his life.

Sibanyoni, a prominent taxi tycoon and businessman, appeared before the Commission on 28 August 2026. He was discussing his conversations with the former Police Minister, months before he was shot in August 2022.

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Sibanyoni's letter to Cele

At the heart of Sibanyoni's submission to the Commission is a written letter he sent to Minister Cele. In it, he identified himself as a well-known taxi owner in Pretoria and warned Cele that the killings of taxi operators across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were being orchestrated by a cartel with deep roots inside the South African Police Service (SAPS).

He claimed that the cartel was said to be run by Jothan 'Mswazi' Msibi.

"One of the very disturbing facts is that senior SAPS officials are in this Cabal," Sibanyoni wrote in the letter.

He urged Cele to grant him an urgent audience before further killings made it impossible to trace the source of the violence, noting that service delivery across greater Tshwane was already being disrupted by the same network.

The letter was written during the Covid-19 period, when Sibanyoni argued that the pandemic was the only factor preventing the killings from escalating beyond control.

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Cele reportedly responded to Sibanyoni's letter in Zulu, stating: "Ufuna ngenzeni mina ngoba vele ematekisini niya bulalana," which translates to: "What do you want me to do because you kill each other in the taxi industry anyway."

Defence lawyer claims security guard accidentally shot Sibanyoni

Briefly News reported that a defence lawyer challenged witness Bethwell Cele's account of a 2022 shooting at Centurion Golf Estate.

Cele testified that armed men in a BMW attacked taxi boss Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni before he returned fire with his own weapon.

The testimony was part of the trial of alleged cartel boss Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala and four co-accused, who allegedly tried to kill Sibanyoni.

Source: Briefly News