The Madlanga Commission has heard that Taxi Choice, an affiliate of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), submitted an unsolicited offer in February last year, to acquire either a stake in or the entire Putco bus company.
This emerged during the testimony of Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni who is also the chairperson of Taxi Choice.
He was probed about the comments he made in a video which was shown at the commission.
Sibanyoni testified that discussions about acquiring Putco had been raised in engagements with the bus company management over a number of years.
“I before even being the chairman of Taxi Choice, that concern of buying Putco was forever there. So, me assuming that position, it is an ongoing concern. So, it’s not specific that it started between 2024 and 2025. It has already been there for years,” adds Sibanyoni.
Meanwhile, public hearings of the commission will resume on 9 November, following a break around the local government elections.
The commission will also not sit on 2 October 2026, before holding in-camera hearings over the following two weeks.
The inquiry plans to wrap up phase two in November before moving to phase three, which will include the return of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to the witness stand.
The commission will then focus on its final report, which is due to President Cyril Ramaphosa on 25 January 2027.
Madlanga Commission | Sibanyoni denies interfering with Putco operations
