KWAGGAFONTAIN — It was a big victory for taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni and his co-accused, Mvimbi Masilela, Philemon Msiza and Bafana Sindani, after the extortion matter against them was struck off the roll following prosecutor Mkhuseli Ntaba’s absence during proceedings on Monday, 18 May 2026. The charge relates to extortion allegations by a mining businessman involving R2.2 million between 2022 and 2025. The accused have maintained their innocence, with Sibanyoni stating that the charges came as a shock to him as he had always had close ties with the complainant and had at some stage borrowed him R900 000, which he allegedly repaid in full.
The ruling got the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) working tirelessly throughout the week after one of its prosecutors, who has since been suspended and now faces disciplinary action, was charged with contempt of court and faced the authorisation of a warrant for his arrest, with his failure to attend court being the main reason behind the magistrate’s ruling.
The NPA has now drawn the first card in challenging that decision and has filed an application for leave to appeal against the contempt of court ruling and authorisation of a warrant of arrest against prosecutor Mkhuseli.
In a statement issued on Friday, 22 May 2026, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Mpumalanga confirmed that the application follows the ruling handed down by Chief Magistrate T. Tonjeni on Monday, 18 May 2026.
The NPA said the appeal application relates to the conviction of prosecutor Ntaba for contempt of court and the subsequent authorisation of a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear in court during the bail hearing. According to the NPA, the filing of the application for leave to appeal automatically suspends the orders pending the outcome of the appeal process. The DPP has also filed a formal request for written reasons for the ruling in order to supplement the grounds of appeal if necessary.
“The implication of the filing of the said application is that the orders are automatically suspended until the hearing of the application for leave to appeal and finalisation thereof,” the statement read.
The NPA further indicated that it had appointed a legal team led by a senior counsel to look into the matter relating to the decision to strike the criminal case off the roll and would act on the matter once it had received legal advice from the senior counsel.
National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi said the NPA remained committed to ensuring accountability and fulfilling its constitutional mandate.
Adv Mothibi further assured the public that the NPA would continue to act in the interests of justice despite the latest developments in the matter.
The developments follow proceedings at the Kwaggafontain Magistrate’s Court where Sibanyoni’s lawyer, Shaun Abrahams, a former National Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that the repeated delays were damaging his client’s reputation and questioned the prosecutor’s absence.
“We’ve been waiting for hours for the prosecutor to arrive, but he is nowhere to be found. He has not communicated with the court to let us know if he is coming or not. Therefore, I ask the court to charge prosecutor Mkhuseli Ntaba with contempt of court because he cannot simply postpone things at will. This is a serious case with major allegations. I urge the court to take strong action against prosecutor Ntaba’s behaviour,” said Abrahams.
Advocate Mpati Lebakeng, representing co-accused Bafana Sindani, also described the prosecutor’s conduct as unprofessional and unacceptable.
On Friday, 15 May 2026, prosecutor Ntaba informed the court that he would not be available on Monday due to other obligations. However, the court had reportedly directed him to attend the proceedings.
The magistrate subsequently found Ntaba in contempt of court following the application by the defence. A warrant for Ntaba’s arrest was also issued after the court found he had failed to appear without adequate explanation.
Mpumalanga police said investigations into the extortion case would continue in cooperation with the NPA. The matter remains struck off the roll, although the NPA has indicated that the case may be reinstated.
