Madlanga Commission | Sibanyoni suggests Putco may have set own buses alight

Taxi boss, Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni, has told the Madlanga Commission that bus company, Putco, may have set some of its own buses alight amid labour tensions, route disputes and mounting financial pressure.

His claims came after the commission played footage of Putco buses being set alight in January 2025.

Sibanyoni, who was back on the stand at the commission on Wednesday, suggested the incident warranted further investigation, pointing to protests by Putco workers the previous year and long-running tensions between bus and taxi operators over route control.

He also told the commission that, during his engagements with Putco, he became aware that the company was owed money and that a string of accidents involving its buses on Moloto Road appeared suspicious.

Sibanyoni suggested some of the crashes may have been deliberate to trigger insurance payouts.

However, evidence leader, Advocate Matthew Chaskalson, put it to him that he may have had a hand in disrupting Putco’s operations.

“At the start of 2024 you make a speech to the President when you say ‘We are fighting for 30% of Putco’.”

Sibanyoni rejected the suggestion, saying his involvement was limited to representing the KwaMhlanga community’s interests in securing bus services on the route.

The commission also played another video in which Sibanyoni is heard advocating for what has been described as a 30% local-content stake in Putco.

Chaskalson then put it to Sibanyoni that his remarks, together with events that followed, raised questions about interference with Putco’s operations.

“And you say, ‘When you see people interfering with Putco, you must know it’s us.’ In the course of 2024, people start interfering with Putco. They then burn down Putco buses at three different depots in KwaNdebele on 25 January.

“Two days after the buses have been burned down, you are in communication with Mr Sindane about buying buses, and a month later Taxi Choice, not the community, makes an unsolicited offer to purchase the whole Putco fleet,” Chaskalson said.

The footage reportedly shows President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe, at the meeting.

Sibanyoni says he was lobbying on behalf of private bus operators, including Gijima Consortium Bus Services Pty. Ltd, directed by individuals within the taxi industry.

He told the commission that Putco CEO, Franco Pisapia, had asked him to engage government over the company’s month-to-month operating contract, and allegedly promised him 30% of its revenue if he succeeded.

Sibanyoni insists the proposal was about opening the bus industry to his community, rather than forcing Putco to surrender a stake.

Sibanyoni also testified that taxi industry leaders were, at one point, offered SAPS escort services as part of official government policy.

He named his associate, Mpumalanga taxi boss, Oupa “Bafana” Sindane, as one of the people who arranged the escorts on a day-to-day basis.

WhatsApp exchanges presented to the commission appear to show Sibanyoni asking Sindane to arrange an escort while he travelled to SA Taxi headquarters with an individual identified as James Chaplin.

Chaskalson questioned whether these arrangements were indeed part of official police duties, pointing to messages involving a contact saved as “Mashego SAPS Midrand” on Sindane’s phone.

Sibanyoni denied knowing Mashego, despite acknowledging that Midrand SAPS officials had escorted him on occasion.

He also accused Chaskalson of becoming personal during the line of questioning, a remark that drew concern from Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.

The clash intensified when Chaskalson confronted Sibanyoni over what he described as a changing version of who controls taxi routes along Moloto Road.

While Sibanyoni previously agreed that one association controlled the route between Kwaggafontein and Pretoria, he later named several associations operating there, including KwaMhlanga, Molefe and Siyabuswa.

Chaskalson accused him of shifting his testimony and again raised the possibility that Sibanyoni had played a role in interfering with Putco’s operations.

Sibanyoni denied any links to taxi operators seen in commission footage blocking Putco buses.

Meanwhile, Sibanyoni’s testimony on Wednesday marked the last of the commission’s current public sittings, with proceedings expected to resume on 9 November.

In the meantime, proceedings will continue behind closed doors with anonymous witnesses.

When public hearings resume in December, suspended Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and alleged underworld figure, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, are among those expected to appear before the commission ahead of the submission of its final report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao