{"id":251277,"date":"2026-05-25T07:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/251277\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T07:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:12:11","slug":"who-is-joe-ferrari-sibanyoni-santaco-mum-as-extortion-case-unfolds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/251277\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Joe \u201cFerrari\u201d Sibanyoni? Santaco \u2018mum\u2019 as extortion case unfolds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) says that prominent taxi boss Joe \u201cFerrari\u201d Sibanyoni<\/a> was not a member of the organisation, while the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) declined to comment on his arrest, which was linked to the alleged extortion of more than R2.2 million from a mining businessman.<\/p>\n

Sibanyoni was nicknamed \u201cFerrari\u201d for his love of the luxury Italian sports car brand.<\/p>\n

He has come under renewed scrutiny following his arrest over allegations of extortion and money laundering.<\/p>\n

Sibanyoni and his co-accused, Bafana Sindane, Mvimbi Masilela and Philemon Msiza, are accused of extorting more than R2.2 million from a mining businessman between 2022 and 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The group allegedly demanded protection fees from the complainant until a case was opened with the South African Police Service (SAPS).<\/p>\n

However, drama unfolded as the matter was struck off the court roll after prosecutor Mkhuseli Ntaba failed to appear in court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to reports, the prosecutor was on his way to court before allegedly turning back because of security concerns.<\/p>\n

The accused began their bail application proceedings on Friday, and Tonjeni ordered that the hearing continue on Monday.<\/p>\n

Sibanyoni\u2019s<\/a> legal team reportedly applied for the matter to be struck from the roll and for Ntaba to be held in contempt of court.<\/p>\n

Abrahams argued that action should be taken against the prosecutor.<\/p>\n

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has since confirmed that it plans to re-enrol the extortion case.<\/p>\n

In a media statement, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Andy Mothibi said disciplinary action would be taken against Ntaba, who has since been suspended.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this is disappointing, it is not a setback as we are within our right and authority to reinstate the case once there is compliance with the legal provisions governing matters removed from the court roll in this manner,\u201d Mothibi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no room for impunity as we remain resolute in our constitutional obligation to hold those accused of criminality accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo said investigators still believed they had a strong case against the four suspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SAPS has noted that the matter was struck off the court roll after the prosecutor failed to appear in court. The SAPS Mpumalanga Organised Crime Unit maintains that it still has a strong case despite the latest developments,\u201d Masondo said.<\/p>\n

He said the investigation was conducted by organised crime investigators, leading to the arrest of the four suspects and the initial enrolment of the case before bail proceedings began.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrong evidence against the suspects with regard to the matter remains intact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SAPS will continue engaging with the National Prosecuting Authority regarding the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is Joe \u201cFerrari\u201d Sibanyoni?<\/p>\n

Sibanyoni rose from modest beginnings to become one of the most influential figures in South Africa\u2019s taxi industry.<\/p>\n

He reportedly started working as a taxi driver in 1985 before buying his first taxi a decade later.<\/p>\n

Over the years, he built a business empire spanning the taxi industry, bus operations, construction, mining, logistics, information technology and real estate.<\/p>\n

Reports estimate his business interests to be worth more than R300 million.<\/p>\n

Sibanyoni is believed to operate a transport empire consisting of about 400 minibus taxis across Gauteng and Mpumalanga.<\/p>\n

He has also held senior leadership roles within the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), including serving as provincial chairperson and deputy president of the organisation.<\/p>\n

Sibanyoni\u2019s influence is particularly strong in Mpumalanga, especially in areas such as Kwaggafontein.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s taxi industry has long been linked to violent power struggles, protection rackets and allegations of organised criminal networks extending beyond public transport.<\/p>\n

Despite the allegations surrounding him, Sibanyoni is also known for philanthropic work through the Joe Sibanyoni Foundation (JSF).<\/p>\n

The foundation provides food parcels and builds homes for vulnerable communities in Mpumalanga.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the NTA confirmed that Sibanyoni was not affiliated with the organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have received your inquiry regarding Mr Joe Sibanyoni. However, we can confirm that he was not a member of the NTA. Please reach out to Santaco, as he was a member there,\u201d NTA national spokesperson Theo Malele told IOL News.<\/p>\n

Santaco, the umbrella body representing South Africa\u2019s minibus taxi industry, declined to comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no comment on all questions as shared,\u201d Santaco national spokesperson Rebecca Phala said.<\/p>\n

[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n

IOL News<\/p>\n

Get your news on the go. Download\u00a0the latest IOL App for\u00a0Android<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0IOS<\/a> now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) says that prominent taxi boss Joe \u201cFerrari\u201d Sibanyoni was not a member of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[52],"tags":[11104,119951,8185,35666,4921,1694,29554,83941,122286,118249,7255,123215,4913,127795,119953,5799,5798,88819,118248,127798,86369,118244,131,86373,1689,127796,127797,123903],"class_list":["post-251277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-south-africa","tag-andy-mothibi","tag-bafana-sindane","tag-director-of-public-prosecutions","tag-ferrari","tag-gauteng","tag-iol-news","tag-italian","tag-joe-ferrari-sibanyoni","tag-joe-sibanyoni-foundation","tag-kwaggafontein","tag-mavela-masondo","tag-mkhuseli-ntaba","tag-mpumalanga","tag-mpumalanga-organised-crime-unit","tag-mvimbi-masilela","tag-national-prosecuting-authority","tag-ndpp","tag-nta","tag-philemon-msiza","tag-rebecca-phala","tag-santaco","tag-shaun-abrahams-sc","tag-south-africa","tag-south-african-national-taxi-council","tag-south-african-police-service","tag-the-national-taxi-alliance","tag-theo-malele","tag-tuletu-tonjeni"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}