Security guard denies mistakenly shooting Joe Sibanyoni during 2022 ambush
Security guard Bethwell Cele testified in a Johannesburg high court, denying allegations that he accidentally shot taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni during a 2022 ambush. The trial involves multiple defendants accused of attempted murder and other serious crimes.
Why it matters
The case sheds light on violent conflicts within the taxi industry and the complexities of legal testimony in high-profile criminal trials.
A security guard who returned fire when Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni came under attack from men in a BMW armed with AK-47s denied that he accidentally shot the taxi boss.
Bethwell Cele said this at the Johannesburg high court on Wednesday in the trial of alleged cartel boss Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and four co-accused.
Matlala , his wife Tsakane Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Nthabiseng Nzama are facing 25 charges that include the attempted murder of actor Tebogo Thobejane and Sibanyoni.
During cross-examination, Mabusela’s lawyer Adv Nardus Grové questioned Cele about the sequence of events on the night of the ambush at the Centurion Golf Estate in 2022.
I’ve never worked [directly] for Sibanyoni. I work for him through another company.
Grové suggested that some of the shots Cele fired that night could have hit Sibanyoni.
However, Cele said it wouldn’t have been possible.
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