South Africa: Prosecutor Faces Arrest After Taxi Boss Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni Escapes Extortion Charges

By Reitumetse Pilane

The extortion and money laundering case against taxi boss Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni and his co-accused was struck off the roll by the Kwaggafontein Magistrates' Court on Monday after State prosecutor Mkhuseli Ntaba failed to appear in court.

Taxi boss Joe "Ferrari" Sibanyoni and his co-accused, Mvimbi Masilela, Philemon Msiza and Bafana Sindane have, for now, been let off on charges related to the alleged R2-million extortion of "protection fees" from a mining businessman between 2022 and 2025.

State prosecutor Mkhuseli Ntaba failed to appear in the Kwaggafontein Magistrates' Court on Monday, leading the magistrate to strike the case from the court roll and order Ntaba to face contempt of court charges, issuing a warrant for his arrest.

The National Prosecuting Authority said Ntaba had been suspended and would face disciplinary charges.

Sibanyoni's name has repeatedly surfaced at the Madlanga Commission, which is probing allegations of criminal infiltration into policing, political and judicial arenas. He has been linked to alleged members of the "Big Five" cartel and survived an assassination attempt in 2022. Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala currently faces charges for his alleged attempted murder.

EXTORTION CHARGES Who is Joe 'Ferrari' Sibanyoni, the taxi boss who survived Matlala's alleged hit? May 13, 2026 During a court hearing on Friday, defence advocate Shaun Abrahams argued that the State's case was "weak to non-existent" and maintained that the relationship between Sibanyoni and the complainant was based on legitimate...

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