Joe Sibanyoni returns to testify at the Madlanga Commission

Pretoria is set to host the Madlanga Commission on Friday as Joe Sibanyoni, the prominent Mpumalanga taxi entrepreneur, prepares to return for further questioning. On Tuesday, Sibanyoni faced grilling over a text message that read, “I have a 500 million deal for Moloto Road. The director who got the contract wants to meet up with you.”

When probed about the message, he claimed ignorance, stating he did not know who had sent it. He suggested the possibility of the message being forwarded to him by an unknown individual. Another statement submitted to the commission alleged that a contractor "used to report at the farm for all his Soshanguve projects, but he now knows there's a new sheriff in town."

When asked if this phrase could refer to him due to his rise as a new power figure since the death of former taxi boss Mswazi Msibi, Sibanyoni adamantly rejected the comparison, self-identifying as "the president" instead. The taxi mogul faced intense scrutiny over alleged connections to organized crime and extortion.