Mpumalanga businessman and taxi owner Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni made significant allegations during his testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, stating that former Police Minister Bheki Cele dismissed his safety worries by stating that taxi operators “are killing each other anyway.”
During his awaited appearance, Sibanyoni outlined his tumultuous experiences in the taxi sector, highlighting the involvement of corrupt police officers and a secret fund known as “bucket money” that purportedly finances contract killings.
Sibanyoni shared that he had directly approached Cele to express his concerns about his safety and the rampant corruption within the industry.
He recounted that Cele callously brushed aside his concerns in isiZulu, saying: “Ufuna ngenzeni mina ngoba vele ematekisini niya bulalana.”
This translates to: “What do you want me to do, because in the taxi industry you are killing each other anyway?”
Sibanyoni testified that he presented detailed information about the taxi business’s operations, including claims of a criminal cartel and alleged collusion by police with the late businessman Jotham Msibi.
He indicated that while he did not possess concrete evidence regarding the cartel based at a particular farm, he aimed to bring this intelligence to the minister’s attention to prompt a thorough police investigation.
Reflecting on his life, Sibanyoni revealed that he survived an assassination attempt in 2006.
The injuries he sustained led him to exit the taxi industry for two years, before returning in 2008.
He decisively implicated the late Msibi in planning both the 2006 and 2022 attacks, asserting that this was part of a strategy to push him out of business.
In a further revelation, Sibanyoni detailed how taxi-related violence is systematically financed.
He pointed to the existence of funds within taxi associations that are not accounted for, commonly referred to internally as “bucket money.”
Sibanyoni explained that these untraceable cash reserves are specifically utilized to hire izinkabi (hitmen) from KwaZulu-Natal to eliminate competitors in fierce route disputes.
He noted that this issue was prominently discussed during leadership meetings in 2020, even as operators publicly advocated for peace.
He connected his findings to the historical insights of the Shongwe Commission, which examined the origins of taxi violence and uncovered that over 100,000 taxis were operating within the law and outside of it throughout the nation.
The Madlanga Commission is currently investigating the pervasive corruption, infrastructure cartels, and prevalent taxi violence within the transport and security domains.
