Wealthy Pretoria taxi owner and transport mogul Jothan Msibi, popularly known as Mswazi, has died.
According to insiders close to the family, Msibi died in a Pretoria hospital on Sunday after he was admitted a month ago due to undisclosed illness.
A family member of Msibi who asked not to be named also confirmed to Sunday World that the taxi boss has died.
“I can confirm that Mswazi is no more. At this stage the family is still coming to terms with his sudden death. We are meeting as a family to discuss the way forward and plans for his funeral. We’ll public statement afterwards. He died today (Sunday) in the afternoon,” said the family member.
“Mswazi was admitted to the hospital a month ago and died there. We are not sure yet about the cause of his death. We are still waiting for the report that will shed a light on the cause of his death,” said an insider.
In 2000, it was reported that Msibi’s wife Sara and her sister Happy Mgoato were arrested for the murder plot where two hitmen were hired to kill him.
The sisters were arrested in Soshanguve, after two would-be-hitmen had given the police sworn statements implicating them in a murder plot. It is not clear what became of the case.
Hit on ex-spy boss Fraser
Msibi was once the president of the South African Local and Long Distance Taxis and Buses Organisation. Though some lauded him for advocating for peace in the strife-ridden taxi industry, he was feared by others for his alleged involvement in the industry’s cancerous violence.
Former state security agency director-general, Arthur Fraser, claimed that Msibi was hired to kill him. This was after Fraser had opened a criminal case against President Cyril Ramaphosa at Rosebank Police for the alleged cover-up on the Phala Phala farm robbery.
At the time, Fraser claimed that Msibi was hired to kill him and his legal representative, Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane but didn’t disclose who had hired the taxi boss.
In an intriguing twist of events, the alleged hit on Fraser and Sikhakhane was called off after the former spy boss went to Nkandla and complained to former President Jacob Zuma who allegedly told Msibi to leave the two men alone.
This is a developing story.
