Taxi tycoon Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni has rejected suggestions that his dealings with members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) were improper.
Sibanyoni was back in the witness box at the Madlanga Commission in Pretoria on Monday as he continued to answer questions before the inquiry.
The commission is investigating allegations of criminal and political interference in the country’s criminal justice system.
Sibanyoni opened his testimony by reading from supplementary statements in which he sought to clarify his relationships with police officers.
He told the commission that his familiarity with police officers stemmed from having known and interacted with members of the police for many years.
“I emphasise, with clarity, that I have grown up with, known and associated with members of the police services,” he said.
Sibanyoni insisted that none of these associations had been motivated by an improper purpose.
“I have never associated with them for some improper motive or purpose,” he said.
He said it would be wrong to interpret his interactions with police officers as an attempt to influence or corrupt them.
“In fact, I indeed hope my reading of the context from the commission that knowing a policeman and meeting them or associating with them would mean none other than to corrupt them or cause them to be corrupt, because such a narrative would be entirely incorrect,” he said.
The commission questioned Sibanyoni about five police officers who had, at various times, been given access codes to his estate.
Sibanyoni told the inquiry that he had no social, personal or professional association with four of the officers.
He confirmed that he knew the fifth officer, Warrant Officer Bhokgolo Mahlangu.
According to Sibanyoni, his connection to Mahlangu was through their families, as his younger brother has a son in the Mahlangu family.
Sibanyoni also criticised the way information was being disclosed to him during the commission’s proceedings.
He described the process as “drip-feeding” information that he was subsequently expected to address.
“I have raised and continue to raise with concern the manner in which we are being drip-fed information from the commission, which information is blatantly in the hands of the commission at the moment,” he said.
He argued that receiving information on an ongoing basis forced him to repeatedly update his evidence.
Sibanyoni said this process was also placing an additional financial burden on him because he had to consult his legal team each time.
“For these continuous supplements, one has to consult with the legal team at a cost,” he said.
No direct allegations have been made against Sibanyoni before the commission.
However, his name has featured several times during evidence presented to the inquiry.
His name has been linked in testimony to the alleged Big Five cartel, which was reportedly headed by the late taxi boss Jothan Msibi.
Msibi was previously described as a close associate of Sibanyoni.
Sibanyoni has also been mentioned during the commission’s proceedings in connection with Gubis 858, a security company that has been implicated in alleged tender irregularities in Tshwane.
