By Johnathan Paoli
A warrant of arrest has been issued for controversial KwaZulu-Natal taxi boss Thomas Siyabonga Getsemane on charges of fraud and extortion dating back to 2023, with police searching for him after failing to locate him at his Durban home.
The active J50 warrant was issued after authorities were unable to execute it at Getsemane’s residence in La Lucia, north of Durban.
The charges relate to alleged fraud and extortion offences dating back three years.
Police have not disclosed further details of the case but confirmed that efforts to trace Getsemane are continuing.
The development comes amid Getsemane’s long-running disputes with senior police officials in KwaZulu-Natal and follows his legal challenge against provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Earlier this year, Getsemane approached the courts on an urgent basis seeking an interdict against Mkhwanazi, alleging the commissioner had made “veiled threats” against him and subjected him and his family to harassment.
The application arose from disputes linked to the taxi industry, with Getsemane claiming the conduct of senior police officials had placed him and his relatives at risk.
Mkhwanazi has led several high-profile operations targeting organised crime and taxi-related violence in KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2024, Getsemane instituted a R100 million civil claim against the South African Police Service, alleging that he and 11 of his bodyguards were unlawfully arrested, detained and publicly humiliated during a police operation at the Qala Quarry in Inanda.
According to papers filed in the Pietermaritzburg High Court, Getsemane claimed police acted unlawfully when they arrested him and his security detail during the November 2023 operation.
Police alleged at the time that the group had attempted to unlawfully take control of the quarry and intended charging them with trespassing and intimidation.
During the operation, officers seized R137,000 in cash, firearms, cellphones, a laptop and other items.
However, when the group appeared in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court, prosecutors declined to enrol the matter after assessing the available evidence, and all 12 men were released.
In his civil claim, Getsemane maintained that he had been lawfully appointed by one of the quarry’s shareholders to manage operations at the site and had visited the property with his security personnel ahead of work commencing.
He alleged that, despite his attorney confirming the validity of his letter of authority with the shareholder, police refused to release him.
Getsemane further claimed that he and the other applicants were detained for four days in unhygienic conditions, were assaulted by police officers and suffered reputational harm after photographs of their arrests circulated on social media.
His lawsuit seeks R1 million for unlawful arrest and detention, R49 million for pain, trauma and emotional suffering, and R50 million for humiliation, embarrassment and loss of dignity.
He also alleges that former police minister Bheki Cele defamed him by referring to him as a construction “mafia” figure during a televised interview.
The latest warrant places Getsemane at the centre of a separate criminal investigation, with police continuing efforts to locate him and bring him before court on the fraud and extortion charges.
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