Taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni and his co-accused’s lives are in danger. This was revealed by Sibanyoni and his co-accused’s legal representative, Shaun Abrahams, when he applied for bail for Sibanyoni and his co-accused during their appearance in the Delmas Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 28 May 2026.
Sibanyoni and his co-accused, Daniel Masilela, Philemon Msiza and Bafana Sindane, are accused of money laundering and extorting a Mpumalanga mine owner of more than R2 million.
“The lives of my clients are in danger. It’s public knowledge that there was an attempt to take out Joe Sibanyoni. He survived an attempted hit on his life. Mr Sindane is also receiving threats. But I don’t want to dwell much on the matter,” he said.
He requested that his clients report to police stations of their choice for their own safety.
Magistrate Buthelezi, who was presiding over the matter, released the accused on R70 000 bail each. She warned them not to interfere with state witnesses and not to commit any criminal offences while on bail.
The case was postponed to 1 September 2026.
The four appeared in court after Abrahams filed papers in the Mpumalanga High Court to interdict the re enrolment of the case in the Delmas Magistrate’s Court.
In court papers, the four argued that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) acted irregularly and unlawfully by re-enrolling the matter despite requests for representations to be made before any further prosecutorial steps were taken.
The accused are facing charges of extortion and two counts of kidnapping.
According to the urgent application, the accused contend that the NPA ignored formal correspondence sent by their legal representatives requesting an opportunity to make representations on why the matter should not be re-enrolled.
They further argue that the prosecution moved ahead with the re-enrolment process without responding to their request and subsequently sought warrants compelling them to appear before the Delmas Magistrate’s Court.
The applicants claim that Delmas Magistrate’s Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter because the alleged offences were allegedly committed outside the Delmas magisterial district.
Instead, they argue that the matter should have been re-enrolled in the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court, where the case was previously before it was struck off the roll.
The matter was struck from the roll after prosecutor Advocate Ntaba allegedly failed to appear in court.
In their court papers, the applicants accuse the NPA of deliberately and secretly seeking to have the matter enrolled in Delmas instead of Kwaggafontein.
They argue that the prosecution fears returning the matter to the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court because that court already has full knowledge of the history and circumstances surrounding the case.
“The NPA deliberately sought to procure the re-enrolment of the matter in Delmas, despite the absence of jurisdiction, because the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court is fully acquainted with the history of the matter and the circumstances under which it was struck from the roll,” the applicants state in the papers.
The applicants further contend that the manner in which the warrants were obtained violated their constitutional rights and exposed them to imminent arrest without following proper legal processes.
In the urgent application, they seek an order interdicting the NPA and the police from executing the warrants of arrest and preventing the matter from proceeding in the Delmas Magistrate’s Court pending the outcome of their challenge.
They are also seeking declaratory relief declaring the conduct of the NPA irregular, unlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional.
The applicants argue that they will suffer irreparable harm if the warrants are executed, including deprivation of liberty, reputational damage and prejudice to their constitutional rights. This urgent application will be heard on June 2 2026.
