Mapaballo Borotho
- A witness at the Madlanga Commission has identified late taxi boss Jonathan “Mswazi” Msibi as the alleged leader of the notorious Big Five drug cartel.
- The cartel is believed to be involved in tender fraud, contract killings, and human trafficking across Gauteng.
- Testimony also revealed audio recordings suggesting Katiso Molefe’s family was tipped off about imminent arrests.
The Madlanga Commission has heard explosive testimony identifying late Pretoria taxi boss Jonathan Msibi, popularly known as Mswazi, as the alleged president of the alleged powerful Gauteng-based drug cartel known as the Big Five.
Msibi, a well-known figure in the City of Tshwane’s taxi industry, died in January 2024 following a short illness. His alleged role in the criminal network was revealed on Thursday by Witness B, who testified off-camera from a safe house due to the sensitive and dangerous nature of the evidence.
The commission had previously heard from Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo that the Big Five cartel had allegedly infiltrated politics and the justice system, running widespread criminal operations across Gauteng. The syndicate is said to be involved in drug trafficking, tender fraud, contract killings, and human trafficking.
Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and Katiso “KT” Molefe were previously identified as lower-ranking members of the cartel, suggesting the existence of more dangerous underworld figures within the network.
During Thursday’s proceedings, Witness B presented an organogram illustrating the cartel’s hierarchy. The diagram reportedly showed Matlala as the individual responsible for engaging with “fixers” who connected him to senior police officers and politicians.
Witness B, who is also an investigating officer, submitted two audio recordings allegedly featuring members of Molefe’s family warning his son and nephew to flee.
These recordings were introduced as evidence that Molefe’s relatives had been tipped off about upcoming arrests, shortly after Molefe himself was apprehended for allegedly masterminding the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart.
According to Witness B, Molefe’s son and nephew were linked to a company named SK Group, which had allegedly received an irregular tender from Transnet. Witness B added that this irregular award was exposed by Q-Tech, a company that had previously held the contract with the state-owned enterprise.
The probe into the tender reportedly caused problems for Molefe’s nephew, Lucky, who was employed at Transnet.
Witness B further testified that bribes were offered to protect suspects connected to the murder of Armand Swart.
The commission also heard that Swart was not the intended target of the alleged hit ordered by businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe. Swart was shot 23 times outside his workplace, Q-Tech Engineering, in what has been described as a tragic case of mistaken identity.
In one of the submitted recordings, which is in SeSotho, Lucky Molefe’s sister is heard pleading with him to stay away from their family home in Soweto. In another recording, a woman identified as Fundiswa, allegedly Molefe’s partner, can be heard advising Lucky to disconnect the tracker from his vehicle.
According to the investigating officer, both recordings were obtained from mobile phones during the course of the investigation.
Witness B is expected to resume her testimony before the Madlanga Commission on Friday, 24 October 2025.
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