South African Taxi Boss Admits R900k Payment to Man Accusing Him of Extortion

The Associate and the Threatening Messages

At the heart of the commission's examination are WhatsApp messages recovered from the phone of Bafana "King of the Sky" Sindane, Sibanyoni's close associate. Those messages threatened to halt Ntuli's business operations unless he paid up. When questioned, Sibanyoni distanced himself from the threat, insisting Sindane acted independently and that the two had maintained a cordial relationship throughout.

"He was acting on his own," Sibanyoni told commissioners, denying he sent any threatening communication or instructed Sindane to do so. Pressed on whether Ntuli's project was eventually disrupted, Sibanyoni suggested it continued uninterrupted—implying Sindane's threats carried no weight. Yet the discrepancy between the R900,000 Sibanyoni claims he contributed and the R2 million Ntuli alleges was extorted remains unexplained.

Hitman Legal Fees and Family Requests

The commission also scrutinized payments Sibanyoni made toward legal representation for Gwabo Mahlangu, a convicted criminal linked to taxi-related murders. When pressed by evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson about why a businessman would finance the defense of someone convicted of serious crimes, Sibanyoni offered a straightforward explanation: Mahlangu's family approached him for help, and his mother personally requested assistance.

"His family approached me," he said. Sibanyoni rejected suggestions that such payments reflected deeper criminal connections. Yet the pattern of associations—from Sindane's threatening messages to support for a convicted hitman—paints a portrait of extensive entanglement with figures implicated in violence and coercion.

Wider Investigation into Taxi Cartel Links

Sibanyoni has previously rejected claims he was part of Jothan Msibi's alleged Gauteng cartel, which he termed "the farm." Msibi, a major taxi industry figure, died in 2024. Sibanyoni acknowledged taxi partnerships with him but maintained distance from any criminal dimension. The commission's focus has expanded beyond extortion allegations to include alleged interference within South Africa's police service and potential links to broader networks of organized crime operating across the mining and transport sectors.

The inquiry will continue examining the recovered messages and financial flows that suggest a system where money moved through informal channels, influence was leveraged through threats, and protection was offered to those with criminal convictions—all hallmarks of organized crime infiltration in post-apartheid South Africa's informal economy.