‘New sheriff’ message puts Sibanyoni’s influence over R500m deal under scrutiny

Businessman Dr Tengane Thomas Ntuli took the stand at the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday and told how Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni and taxi boss Oupa “Bafana” Sindane sought to extract protection payments from him.

Ntuli claimed Sibanyoni demanded R100,000 in cash at their first meeting in July 2021. Sibanyoni, however, has struggled to explain the payment, while Ntuli has linked it to establishing a business relationship.

Sindane, Sibanyoni, and two others face charges of extortion and money laundering in the Kwaggafontein Magistrates’ Court in Mpumalanga.

The allegations relate to Ntuli’s Tengane Mining, which obtained a mining right in Mkobola in December 2022 to supply aggregate to King Civil, the SA National Road Agency’s (Sanral’s) main contractor on part of the Moloto Road.

According to the criminal docket, Ntuli alleges Sibanyoni and Sindane later demanded 40% of his contract income and, after he objected, instructed him to pay R100,000 a month to a transport company linked to Sibanyoni as a “protection fee”. About R2.29-million was allegedly paid into the company’s account.

MADLANGA COMMISSION

Taxi boss Oupa Sindane linked to extortion racket and leaked police intelligence

September 28, 2026

Sibanyoni has rejected the extortion allegations, maintaining that the payments and his dealings with Ntuli were linked to legitimate business arrangements.

‘New sheriff’ message puts Sibanyoni under scrutiny

But it is the “new sheriff” message that brought into focus the influence Sibanyoni was understood to exercise over contractors and whether his dealings were, as he maintains, ordinary commercial arrangements.

Evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC had turned to WhatsApp messages between Sibanyoni and taxi boss Oupa “Bafana” Sindane concerning a R500-million Moloto Road deal and a director who wanted to meet.

One message Sibanyoni received and forwarded to Sindane reads: “Lol. I need a meeting. I have a R500 million deal for Moloto Road” and that “the director who got the contract wants to meet up with you”. A follow-up message said the director “used to report at the farm for all his Soshanguve projects but now knows there was a ‘new sheriff in town’.”

The commission had heard evidence identifying the “Farm” as a network allegedly headed by the late Jotham “Mswazi” Msibi and linked to extortion, murder, tender fraud and protection rackets.

MADLANGA COMMISSION

Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni describes ‘avalanche’ of deaths, defends ‘jogging’ texts

September 21, 2026

Chaskalson pressed Sibanyoni on whether he had written the messages or merely forwarded them. Sibanyoni was initially unsure, later suggesting they may have been forwarded to him.

Commissioner advocate Sandile Khumalo SC then asked who the “you” referred to. Sibanyoni said it meant Sindane because he had forwarded the message to him.

Khumalo questioned why a director involved in a R500-million contract would want to meet Sindane when Sibanyoni had previously told the commission that, under their arrangement with Ntuli, he kept R80,000 of a R100,000 payment while Sindane received R20,000.

“You are the big boss for the purposes of this arrangement,” Khumalo told him.

Sibanyoni denied involvement in any R500-million deal, saying it never materialised.

Commissioner Sesi Baloyi, SC, challenged Sibanyoni’s interpretation of the message, pointing out that nothing in the exchange identified Sindane as the person the director wanted to meet. The message simply said, “you”.

Sibanyoni could not recall who sent the message or who made an earlier telephone call, but maintained that no meeting or R500-million transaction materialised.

Ntuli’s contracts

King Civil: Sanral appointed King Civil as main contractor in early 2021 for a 36-month Moloto Road project. Ntuli’s Tengane Mining obtained its mining right on 15 December 2022 and supplied aggregate to King Civil.

Edwin Construction: Edwin Construction subsequently took over the Moloto Road contract. Ntuli alleges that payments demanded from him increased to R120,000 a month after the change.

‘Landlord’ messages, R100,000 payment expose gaps in account

The commission also tested Sibanyoni’s response to Ntuli’s allegations, including WhatsApp exchanges in which taxi boss Sindane allegedly referred to himself as the “Landlord Growth Point” when communicating with Ntuli about protection payments.

Evidence leader Chaskalson asked Sibanyoni whether he was aware that Sindane used the term in his dealings with Ntuli.

“Yes,” Sibanyoni replied, saying it was terminology the two men used between themselves.

The questioning then turned to a R100,000 payment Ntuli made to Sibanyoni in July 2021, shortly after their first meeting.

Sibanyoni initially disputed that the payment was linked to their first meeting, saying payments between R50,000 and R100,000 represented profits from their business arrangement.

Chaskalson pressed him on why the first R100,000 payment had been made in July 2021.

“That was our first profit,” Sibanyoni replied.

But when Chaskalson pointed out that the payment came in the same month as their first meeting, Sibanyoni became uncertain about the chronology.

“I’m not sure about the dates as to which date we started making profit,” he said, before suggesting that the R100,000 was the first profit and a subsequent R50,000 payment represented the second.

The timeline became more difficult to reconcile when Chaskalson asked when Sibanyoni first invested his own money into the business.

“December 2023, I think so,” Sibanyoni replied.

Chaskalson pointed out that the R100,000 payment was made in July 2021 — more than two years before Sibanyoni said he first put money into the business.

Sibanyoni again qualified his answer, saying he began investing after the first three months of doing business with Ntuli. He maintained that the R100,000 represented the first profit because, before he injected his own money, the business had been running at a loss.

Commissioner Khumalo then focused on the chronology.

Ntuli’s statement records that he was introduced to Sibanyoni in July 2021, following an earlier meeting in June, at which the introduction was discussed.

“So, the question is that the first payment of R100,000 must have been made in the very month that he first met Dr Ntuli,” Khumalo put to Sibanyoni.

Sibanyoni acknowledged the point, but said he struggled with the dates and Ntuli’s affidavit, which he disputed.

Khumalo returned to the payment table and asked why Sibanyoni received R100,000 in the same month that he first met Ntuli.

“I can’t explain it further,” Sibanyoni replied, again referring to Ntuli’s affidavit and saying he believed it suited Ntuli’s version of events because he was the person who had opened the criminal case.

Sibanyoni grilled over payments

Evidence leader Chaskalson, SC, turned to a WhatsApp exchange in which Dr Ntuli recorded that, in December 2025, the “said president” demanded a bonus, prompting him to transfer R50,000, reflected in his bank statement as “bonus”.

“Does that ring a bell?” Chaskalson asked.

“Yes,” Sibanyoni replied, but disputed that it was a demanded bonus, saying it was a Christmas contribution because December and January were short business months.

“Much as there is no money, but we are going Christmas, can’t we have something for Christmas?” he told the commission.

Chaskalson put it to him that the payment was effectively compelled. Sibanyoni insisted it was not a bonus.

“If it was a bonus, it would have been R100,000, not R50,000,” he said.

Chaskalson then asked whether the payment was linked to the King Civil or Edwin Construction contracts. Sibanyoni said it came from Ntuli’s company and that the same arrangement continued after Edwin Construction took over.

Payment records showed regular payments until September 2024, followed by a gap of more than a year before another payment in November 2025.

Chaskalson suggested the November 2025 payment could have been linked to Edwin Construction after the King Civil contract ended. Sibanyoni agreed that this was his understanding.

His cross-examination continues on Wednesday, 30 September. DM