Taxi bosses Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni, Bafana Sindane case back in court on Thursday

Taxi tycoons Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni and Bafana Sindane’s multimillion-rand extortion case will be back in court on Thursday.

This was confirmed by the National Prosecuting Authority on Wednesday after the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court case struck the case off the roll last week on Monday.

Sibanyoni and his co-accused, who are implicated in a R2.2-million extortion case involving a Mpumalanga businessman, will appear in the Delmas Magistrate’s Court after dramatic developments that plunged the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court into turmoil last week and saw the prosecutor being found guilty of contempt of court in absentia.

The accused also include Phillmon Makhaya Msiza and Mvimba Daniel Masilela. The quartet faces charges of extortion and two counts of money laundering. The state alleges that between 2022 and 2025, they unlawfully forced a businessman in Mpumalanga’s Nkangala district to pay more than R2.2 million in protection fees while threatening to shut down his business operations if he failed to comply.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stated that the matter has been transferred from Kwaggafontein to Delmas, about 120 km away, where the accused will face the same charges afresh.

NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told Sunday World the case would be enrolled in Delmas on Thursday morning.

“The case is being enrolled tomorrow morning in Delmas, and the accused will be appearing on the same charges,” said Kganyago.

The decision follows an extraordinary courtroom clash that saw Chief Magistrate Tuletu Tonjeni convict the state prosecutor of contempt of court, authorise a warrant for his arrest and strike the criminal case from the roll in terms of Section 342A of the Criminal Procedure Act.

The unprecedented developments sent shockwaves through legal circles and triggered a fierce response from the NPA.

On Tuesday, the prosecuting authority announced that it had filed a formal complaint with the Magistrates Commission against Tonjeni, arguing that her conduct raised “serious institutional concerns relating to judicial decorum, procedural fairness and the proper administration of justice”.

The NPA has also filed a notice seeking leave to appeal against the contempt finding and the warrant of arrest issued against the prosecutor.

Asked whether a new prosecutor would be appointed to handle the matter in Delmas, Kganyago declined to comment.

“For security reasons, I can’t say,” he said.

The relocation of the case to a different court is expected to fuel speculation that authorities are seeking a fresh start after last week’s legal drama threatened to derail the prosecution.

At the centre of the case is Sibanyoni, a prominent taxi boss known as “Ferrari”, who is accused alongside his co-accused of allegedly extorting R2.2 million from a businessman.

The allegations have attracted significant public interest in Mpumalanga due to Sibanyoni’s influence in the taxi industry and the extraordinary courtroom events that have unfolded around the matter.

All eyes will now be on the Delmas Magistrate’s Court on Thursday as prosecutors attempt to place the case back on track while the separate battle over the conduct of the Kwaggafontein proceedings continues to unfold.

Sibanyoni, Pretoria taxi operator Bafana “King of the Sky” Sindane, Phillmon Makhaya Msiza and Mvimba Daniel Masilela. The quartet faces charges of extortion and two counts of money laundering.

The State alleges that between 2022 and 2025, they unlawfully forced a businessman in Mpumalanga’s Nkangala district to pay more than R2.2 million in protection fees while threatening to shut down his business operations if he failed to comply.

• This story has been updated

Visit SW YouTube Channel for our video content