Prominent tycoon and taxi boss Joe Madoda Sibanyoni, commonly known as “Joe Ferrari” insists that he is a man of God and that charges brought against him are simply trumped up.
Speaking to journalists inside the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court in the Mpumalanga Province wherein he appeared on Wednesday, Sibanyoni said the following:
“I am a man of God, I am a preacher and since I am in prison now, I will continue to preach the word of God right here in prison.”
One of the people involved in the taxi industry who refused to be named told Tshwane Talks that the state is wasting its time by prosecuting Joe Sibanyoni as he is a good man who always preaches the word of God and encourages others to always put God first.
A taxi operator told Tshwane Talks that the prosecution of Joe Sibanyoni is a clear case of sabotage; that the state wants to tarnish Sibanyoni’s good reputation as an accomplished businessman.
Meanwhile, Sibanyoni’s lawyer Shaun Abrahams also echoed the sentiment that the whole exercise against Sibanyoni is based on trumped up charges.
Abrahams said he will fight tooth and nail to make sure that Sibanyoni is released on bail.
“The complainant is actually an acquaintance of Sibanyoni and he used to borrow large amounts of money from Sibanyoni and it is therefore strange that the complainant is today claiming that he has been extorted for some period of time,” explained Abrahams.
According to the allegations levelled at Sibanyoni, he and his two co-accused have been extorting money from the complaint for a number of years now and that the complainant got tired of paying the money and reported the three men to the police last year.
For now the case has been postponed to Friday at the selfsame Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court for further arguments regarding bail for Sibanyoni, this as the prosecution is vehemently opposing his release on bail.
Sibanyoni was arrested in the wee hours of Monday morning at his house in Centurion, Tshwane and appeared in the Magistrates Court together with two co-accused men Mvimbi Daniel Masilela and Philemon Msiza.
The trio are facing charges of extortion as well as two counts of money-laundering.
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