Phala Phala robbery case mysteriously opened - two years later
A case of housebreaking and robbery at South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Bela-Bela was mysteriously opened in August at the local police station.
The Sunday Independent exclusively revealed that the Phala Phala farm manager opened a case at the Bela-Bela police station more than two years after the incident occurred.
The move piqued the interest of senior police officers, who questioned the timing and the conduct of colleagues at the station. A senior police officer said police at Bela-Bela should have charged the person who opened the case with defeating the ends of justice.
“They failed to report the case to the police for more than two years and now, out of the blue, when everything is in the public domain, someone goes to the police station and opens a case. That person should have been charged with defeating the ends of justice and for wasting the police’s time,” the officer said.
As guilty
A politician, who asked not to be named, said if Ramaphosa sanctioned the opening of this case, he is as guilty as the person who opened it.
“What exactly do they hope to achieve by opening this case? The crime scene has been tampered with for more than two years, and the president should have known better,” the politician said.
“If he wanted justice for the robbery at his farm, he should have reported the matter to the police in February 2020 - unless he has something to hide.”
The case comes two-and-a-half years after robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of US dollars from Ramaphosa's property. South African police spokesperson colonel Robert Netshiunda yesterday failed to answer questions sent to him about the case.
Five Namibian nationals allegedly broke into Ramaphosa’s farm on 9 February 2020 and helped themselves to money concealed in furniture at the farm, including a mattress. But the president and his head of security, General Wally Rhoode, didn’t report the robbery to any police station.
Former state security director-general Arthur Fraser was the first to make the public aware of the robbery when he opened a criminal case of kidnapping and torture against Ramaphosa and Rhoode at Rosebank police station in June.
Undisclosed
In his affidavit, Fraser claimed Ramaphosa and Rhoode didn’t report the matter to the police because they wanted to hide the fact that the president was keeping an undisclosed amount, estimated to be between US$4 million and US$8 million, at the farm. He further claimed Ramaphosa had not declared or disclosed the source of the funds to the South African Revenue Services.
Rhoode also admitted, in his response to the public protector investigation, that he had not opened any case with the police about the robbery.
The new revelations come as an independent panel appointed by South African parliament to probe the Phala Phala allegations against Ramaphosa started work on the case last Wednesday.
Speaker of parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was forced to appoint the panel to determine whether Ramaphosa has a prima facie case to answer to on the robbery.
The panel has 30 days to report back to parliament. All members of parliament were given six days to submit evidence to the panel, while Ramaphosa would be given 10 days to provide his written responses to all the evidence submitted.
The Sunday Independent exclusively revealed that the Phala Phala farm manager opened a case at the Bela-Bela police station more than two years after the incident occurred.
The move piqued the interest of senior police officers, who questioned the timing and the conduct of colleagues at the station. A senior police officer said police at Bela-Bela should have charged the person who opened the case with defeating the ends of justice.
“They failed to report the case to the police for more than two years and now, out of the blue, when everything is in the public domain, someone goes to the police station and opens a case. That person should have been charged with defeating the ends of justice and for wasting the police’s time,” the officer said.
As guilty
A politician, who asked not to be named, said if Ramaphosa sanctioned the opening of this case, he is as guilty as the person who opened it.
“What exactly do they hope to achieve by opening this case? The crime scene has been tampered with for more than two years, and the president should have known better,” the politician said.
“If he wanted justice for the robbery at his farm, he should have reported the matter to the police in February 2020 - unless he has something to hide.”
The case comes two-and-a-half years after robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of US dollars from Ramaphosa's property. South African police spokesperson colonel Robert Netshiunda yesterday failed to answer questions sent to him about the case.
Five Namibian nationals allegedly broke into Ramaphosa’s farm on 9 February 2020 and helped themselves to money concealed in furniture at the farm, including a mattress. But the president and his head of security, General Wally Rhoode, didn’t report the robbery to any police station.
Former state security director-general Arthur Fraser was the first to make the public aware of the robbery when he opened a criminal case of kidnapping and torture against Ramaphosa and Rhoode at Rosebank police station in June.
Undisclosed
In his affidavit, Fraser claimed Ramaphosa and Rhoode didn’t report the matter to the police because they wanted to hide the fact that the president was keeping an undisclosed amount, estimated to be between US$4 million and US$8 million, at the farm. He further claimed Ramaphosa had not declared or disclosed the source of the funds to the South African Revenue Services.
Rhoode also admitted, in his response to the public protector investigation, that he had not opened any case with the police about the robbery.
The new revelations come as an independent panel appointed by South African parliament to probe the Phala Phala allegations against Ramaphosa started work on the case last Wednesday.
Speaker of parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was forced to appoint the panel to determine whether Ramaphosa has a prima facie case to answer to on the robbery.
The panel has 30 days to report back to parliament. All members of parliament were given six days to submit evidence to the panel, while Ramaphosa would be given 10 days to provide his written responses to all the evidence submitted.
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