RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - A suspect was arrested here in connection with housebreaking and theft at President Cyril Ramaphosa's farm in 2020. Another was caught in Bela Bela. The two suspects, a woman (30) and a 39-year-old man, were arrested the past weekend by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (HAWKS).
The theft of an undisclosed amount of dollars allegedly stuffed under a sofa cushion at the President's Phala Phala farm made news headlines in February 2020. Both suspects were set to appear before the Bela Bela Magistrates court on Tuesday (7 November).
According to Colonel Katlego Mogale, the arrest of a third suspect is imminent.
The former director-general at the State Security Agency, Arthur Fraser, opened a case of a kidnapping and money laundering against Ramaphosa, the head of the Presidential Protection Services, Major-General Wally Rhoode, and Crime Intelligence members for allegedly concealing the burglary.
It was reported that President Ramaphosa claimed that $580 000 cash was paid to his former farm manager, Sylvester Ndlovu, by Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa on Christmas Day in 2019 in exchange for a herd of buffalo. The president maintained the cash was in exchange for a group of buffalo, even though they remained on the farm more than three years later.
Ramaphosa allegedly failed to report the burglary to the police, but chose to report it to Rhoode instead.
It was further alleged that Ramaphosa used the VIP Presidential Protection team to pursue the people who stole the money, which took them all the way to Namibia. Earlier this year, SA Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago defended the bank's investigation into Phala Phala, saying its probe found that the $580 000 in cash handed to a lodge manager in 2020 was a "security deposit" and not a final payment.
"The foreign currency was stolen before the conditions precedent to the sale transaction could be fulfilled," he said.
The Public Protector's office also cleared Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing and did not investigate whether the president had correctly reported the burglary to law enforcement in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
