By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni was back on the stand at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at the Bridgette Mabandla Justice College in Tshwane on Wednesday, 30 September 2026.
On Tuesday, Sibanyoni distanced himself from underworld operations and the so-called Big 5 Cartel. He also denied links to extortionists belonging to a group known as the Kwagga 20.
On Wednesday, the Commission focused on Putco evidence, which brought focus into the blockades and attacks that targeted the bus company, incidents in which Sibanyoni denied any involvement.
This was all part of evidence from four days of testimony and cross-examination in which Sibanyoni faced questions about alleged extortion, business relationships, payments and his links to influential political and business figures.
The chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga questioned why Sibanyoni had intervened in an existing commercial relationship. Sibanyoni said he was acting for GCBS over the R50,000 Putco paid per bus, which he argued was insufficient to cover financing and operating costs.
He said he pushed for the payment to rise to about R90,000 per bus to cover instalments, running costs and drivers. The taxi association also wanted a new agreement allowing GCBS to acquire buses and sought community and traditional-leader sponsorships and development support.
The evidence put Sibanyoni’s intervention squarely inside an existing Putco-GCBS commercial arrangement, raising questions about his role in pushing for a substantially larger payment under the Moloto Road contract.
Sibanyoni’s testimony placed his Putco ambitions against a company that had already made its position clear: it did not want to sell.
He insisted that he had never requested payment or kickbacks from Putco.
He told the commission that his last engagement with Putco was receiving a report-back on 2 August 2024.
He also told the commission that, during his engagements with Putco, he became aware that the company was owed money and that a string of accidents involving its buses on Moloto Road appeared suspicious.
Sibanyoni suggested some of the crashes may have been deliberate to trigger insurance payouts.
However, evidence leader, Advocate Matthew Chaskalson, put it to him that he may have had a hand in disrupting Putco’s operations.
“At the start of 2024 you make a speech to the President when you say ‘We are fighting for 30% of Putco’.”
Sibanyoni rejected the suggestion, saying his involvement was limited to representing the KwaMhlanga community’s interests in securing bus services on the route.
The commission played video in which Sibanyoni is heard advocating for what has been described as a 30% local-content stake in Putco.
Chaskalson then put it to Sibanyoni that his remarks, together with events that followed, raised questions about interference with Putco’s operations.
The footage shows President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe, at the meeting.
Sibanyoni said he was lobbying on behalf of private bus operators, including Gijima Consortium Bus Services Pty. Ltd, directed by individuals within the taxi industry.
He told the commission that Putco CEO, Franco Pisapia, had asked him to engage government over the company’s month-to-month operating contract, and allegedly promised him 30% of its revenue if he succeeded.
Sibanyoni insists the proposal was about opening the bus industry to his community, rather than forcing Putco to surrender a stake.
He also testified that taxi industry leaders were, at one point, offered SAPS escort services as part of official government policy.
Sibanyoni’s testimony on Wednesday marked the last of the commission’s current public sittings, with proceedings expected to resume on 9 November.
In the meantime, proceedings will continue behind closed doors with anonymous witnesses.
When public hearings resume in December, suspended Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and alleged underworld figure, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, are among those expected to appear before the commission ahead of the submission of its final report to Ramaphosa.