Controversial taxi industry figure Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni told the Madlanga Commission in Pretoria on 28 August 2026 that he warned then-police minister Bheki Cele about taxi-industry killings and an alleged cartel involving senior SAPS officials in May 2022, but Cele refused to act on the information.
Sibanyoni, testifying under a Rule 10.6 notice served on 13 August 2026, said he sent Cele a WhatsApp message on 5 May 2022 warning that the taxi industry was on the verge of catastrophe. Daily Maverick, EWN, and IOL all independently reported the substance of his testimony. According to EWN, Sibanyoni told the commission: ‘I asked Cele for an inquiry, he refused…’
Briefly.co.za reported that Cele responded in Zulu with words to the effect of ‘What do you want me to do because you kill each other in the taxi industry anyway.’ That exact wording is drawn from a single source and has not been independently verified against the commission record. Cape Flats could not confirm the precise language attributed to Cele.
Sibanyoni himself faces separate criminal charges. EWN reported he is on bail with co-accused in pending money-laundering and extortion matters in Delmas, with a next court appearance set for the Tuesday following his testimony. Those charges remain untested in court.
The WhatsApp message Sibanyoni reportedly sent Cele, as reproduced by Daily Maverick, read in part: ‘The Taxi Industry is on the verge of catastrophic disaster if left unattended even now during Covid 19 — these current Killings of Gauteng and KZN Taxi Operators which I personally know of.’ The full text has not been independently corroborated by a second outlet.
Sibanyoni was shot twice in an attempted assassination on 10 August 2022, according to multiple reports of the later proceedings. The broader context of taxi violence in South Africa has claimed dozens of lives across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, with ongoing commissions and SAPS investigations struggling to curb the bloodshed. For Cape Town communities reliant on minibus taxis, the inquiry into policing failures at national level has direct relevance to safety on routes serving the Cape Flats.
Under questioning, Sibanyoni distanced himself from any criminal role. ‘I deny, emphatically and absolutely, that I am or have ever been a member of any criminal organisation, cartel, syndicate or grouping,’ he said, according to The Citizen.
His detailed allegations about a cartel structure involving senior SAPS officials, referred to in testimony as ‘The Farm’ and ‘the Big Five’, are reported but not independently verified in the sources reviewed. Claims that weapons used in his shooting were linked to 17 other crimes appear only in Daily Maverick’s reporting and have not been corroborated.
What remains unknown is whether the Madlanga Commission will call Cele to respond to Sibanyoni’s account, and whether the WhatsApp exchange will be entered into the official record. Cape Flats will check for commission updates and further corroboration of the Cele response by 1 September 2026.