Taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni has denied any involvement in the burning of 51 Putco buses in Mpumalanga, telling the Madlanga commission that he was not responsible for the arson attack. Sibanyoni, who is also the president of the South African Local and Long-Distance Taxi and Bus Organisation, claimed that he was being unfairly targeted and that the evidence against him was circumstantial. The buses were set alight at three Putco depots in January 2025, causing significant damage and disrupting the transportation of around 20,000 commuters in the Nkangala district.
The Madlanga commission heard that Sibanyoni had warned President Cyril Ramaphosa a year before the arson attack that business organisations would try to "interfere" with Putco's operations in KwaNdebele. In a video shown to the commission, Sibanyoni can be heard telling Ramaphosa and mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe that business organisations wanted a 30% stake in Putco's business operation. Sibanyoni claimed that he had meant "engaging" with Putco, not interfering, and that he was acting on behalf of the Gauteng Central Bus Services (GCBS).
Evidence presented to the commission suggests that a month after the buses were burnt, Taxi Choice, an organisation headed by Sibanyoni, made an unsolicited offer to Putco to buy its entire business operation in KwaNdebele. The evidence leader, Matthew Chaskalson, pointed out that this offer seemed suspiciously timed, coming just two days after the buses had been burnt. Chaskalson suggested that Sibanyoni's "interfere" speech and the unsolicited offer appeared to be part of a single process to pressure Putco into selling to Taxi Choice.
Sibanyoni denied that he had made the offer to Putco in an attempt to strong-arm the company into selling. He claimed that Taxi Choice had made similar proposals to other companies, including FlySafair, Traxtion Services, Autopax, and North West Transport Investment. However, Putco's managing director, Franco Pisapia, disputed Sibanyoni's account, saying that there had been no talks with Taxi Choice before the unsolicited offer was made.
The commission also heard that Sibanyoni is facing a criminal charge of extorting money from Tengane Thomas Ntuli, who owns a company that supplied aggregate stone to a road project in Mpumalanga. Sibanyoni allegedly raised the issue of the "30% local content" requirement in his dealings with Ntuli. This charge appears to be unrelated to the Putco arson attack, but it has raised questions about Sibanyoni's business dealings and potential connections to organised crime.
Sibanyoni also made statements about the alleged infiltration of law enforcement by criminal elements. He claimed that he knew that suspended police deputy national commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya had reported to his former boss, Jotham Msibi. Sibanyoni suggested that this was a sign of a larger problem, with senior police officers potentially being compromised by organised crime.
Sibanyoni's right-hand man, Oupa "Bafana" Sindane, has been subpoenaed to appear before the commission to answer questions about his talks with police officers and potential involvement in facilitating police escorts for Sibanyoni. The commission is investigating allegations of criminal infiltration in law enforcement, and Sibanyoni's testimony is seen as crucial to understanding the extent of the problem.
Key points
- Taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni denies involvement in burning of Putco buses.
- Sibanyoni's organisation made unsolicited offer to Putco after buses were burnt.
- Sibanyoni faces separate criminal charge of extorting money from Mpumalanga business owner.
