Joe Sibanyoni and co-accused walk free after extortion case struck off the roll

Taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni, alongside co-accused Mvimbi Masilela, Philemon Msiza and Bafana Sindane, walked free on Monday after their extortion case was struck off the roll by the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court.

The four men had appeared in court for a formal bail application linked to charges of money laundering and extortion.

They are accused of extorting more than R2 million in alleged “protection fees” from a mining businessman between 2022 and 2025.

Court proceedings, which were scheduled to begin at 9am, were delayed after state prosecutors failed to appear in court.

Legal representative for Sibanyoni, Shaun Abrahams, asked the chief magistrate to find the state prosecutor in contempt of court.

“He was ordered to be here at 9am and he still hasn’t arrived,” Abrahams told the court.

Abrahams further requested that the matter be removed from the court roll and argued that if this did not happen, the accused should be granted bail.

He described the prosecutor’s conduct as unprofessional and said it amounted to defeating the ends of justice.

The magistrate subsequently ruled that the four accused were free to go home after the prosecutor failed to appear in court. The court also found the prosecutor in contempt of court.

Following the ruling, scenes of celebration unfolded outside court as Sibanyoni, Masilela, Msiza and Sindane danced and sang alongside a large crowd of supporters gathered outside the courthouse.