The Madlanga commission of inquiry has demanded answers from suspended Deputy Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya on his relationship with late taxi boss Jothan Msibi and Steve Motsumi.
Sibiya told the commission that he met Msibi, also known as Mswazi, about six months before his death in 2024.
Msibi, he said, suggested that he meet Motsumi.
Extortion in construction, taxi industry
Sibiya testified that Msibi was unwell at the time but felt it was important for him to understand how the bucket system operated within the taxi industry.
The bucket system, Sibiya explained, involved the unlawful contribution of money, a practice authorities were trying to stamp out as part of broader efforts to combat extortion in both the construction and taxi sectors.
“We were working on extortion in the construction and taxi industries. We were fighting the bucket system, where money was unlawfully contributed,” he said.
He further said that his relationship with businessman Motsumi was limited and professional. And he detailed their interactions in the context of investigations into extortion in the construction and taxi industries.
Sibiya said he knew Motsumi as a businessman. He described him as someone he believed was involved in construction, lending money and the taxi industry.
However, he emphasised that they were not close.
‘Matlala’ was taxi boss bodyguard
“I know him as a businessman but we are not close,” Sibiya told the commission.
Sibiya told the commission that he met Motsumi twice at the Inanda Hotel.
The meetings, he said, were to discuss the Jerry Boshoga matter, in which a man named Matlala might have been implicated.
Matlala, Sibiya testified, was Msibi’s bodyguard.
He said he approached Motsumi to establish whether Matlala had any involvement in the Boshoga case.
Sibiya said Motsumi indicated he would assemble a senior team to explain how the bucket system worked in order to ensure successful arrests.
“He said he’d put together a senior team to show you how the bucket system works to ensure successful arrests,”Sibiya testified.
Throughout his evidence, commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga repeatedly urged Sibiya to keep his answers brief.
Links to Witness F
The commission heard that Sgt Nkosi (Witness F) sent sensitive SAPS information to Motsumi relating to Matlala’s contract. Sibiya was asked whether he had instructed Nkosi to share SAPS communications.
“No, I did not. I felt let down and disappointed by Nkosi’s actions,” he responded.
Sibiya said he did not know whether Motsumi had any interest in Matlala’s contract.
The commission heard that Sgt Nkosi had been arranging a meeting between Sibiya and Motsumi. They were to discuss the taxi bucket system and construction matters.
Madlanga pressed him, suggesting that an urgent meeting would imply he knew who the attendees were.
The commission continues.
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