The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has heard testimony from businessman Dr Tengane Thomas Ntuli, who alleges that Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni and taxi boss Oupa 'Bafana' Sindane sought to extract protection payments from him. Ntuli claims that Sibanyoni demanded R100,000 in cash at their first meeting in July 2021. Sibanyoni has struggled to explain the payment, while Ntuli has linked it to establishing a business relationship.
Sibanyoni, Sindane, and two others face charges of extortion and money laundering in the Kwaggafontein Magistrates' Court in Mpumalanga. The allegations relate to Ntuli's Tengane Mining, which obtained a mining right in Mkobola in December 2022 to supply aggregate to King Civil, the SA National Road Agency's (Sanral's) main contractor on part of the Moloto Road. According to the criminal docket, Ntuli alleges Sibanyoni and Sindane later demanded 40% of his contract income and, after he objected, instructed him to pay R100,000 a month to a transport company linked to Sibanyoni as a "protection fee".
A WhatsApp message sent to Sibanyoni and forwarded to Sindane reads: "Lol. I need a meeting. I have a R500 million deal for Moloto Road" and that "the director who got the contract wants to meet up with you". A follow-up message said the director "used to report at the farm for all his Soshanguve projects but now knows there was a 'new sheriff in town'." The commission had heard evidence identifying the "Farm" as a network allegedly headed by the late Jotham "Mswazi" Msibi and linked to extortion, murder, tender fraud, and protection rackets.
Sibanyoni has rejected the extortion allegations, maintaining that the payments and his dealings with Ntuli were linked to legitimate business arrangements. However, evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC pressed Sibanyoni on whether he had written the messages or merely forwarded them. Sibanyoni was initially unsure, later suggesting they may have been forwarded to him. Commissioner advocate Sandile Khumalo SC then asked who the "you" referred to. Sibanyoni said it meant Sindane because he had forwarded the message to him.
The commission also tested Sibanyoni's response to Ntuli's allegations, including WhatsApp exchanges in which taxi boss Sindane allegedly referred to himself as the "Landlord Growth Point" when communicating with Ntuli about protection payments. Evidence leader Chaskalson asked Sibanyoni whether he was aware that Sindane used the term in his dealings with Ntuli. Sibanyoni replied that it was terminology the two men used between themselves. The questioning then turned to a R100,000 payment Ntuli made to Sibanyoni in July 2021, shortly after their first meeting.
Sibanyoni's explanation for the R100,000 payment has been disputed, with Ntuli's statement recording that he was introduced to Sibanyoni in July 2021, following an earlier meeting in June, at which the introduction was discussed. Commissioner Khumalo pointed out that the first payment of R100,000 must have been made in the very month that Ntuli first met Sibanyoni. Sibanyoni acknowledged the point but said he struggled with the dates and Ntuli's affidavit.
Key points
- Sibanyoni's alleged influence over a R500-million contract has come under scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
- The Madlanga Commission has heard testimony from businessman Dr Tengane Thomas Ntuli, who alleges that Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni and taxi boss Oupa 'Bafana' Sindane sought to extract protection payments from him.
- Sibanyoni has rejected the extortion allegations, maintaining that the payments and his dealings with Ntuli were linked to legitimate business arrangements.
