Three people have gone on trial in South Africa over the alleged theft of $580,000 (about Shs 2.03 billion) said to have been hidden inside a couch at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm.
The accused are Imanuwela David, Ndilinasho Joseph, and his sister Froliana Joseph. They face charges of housebreaking, conspiracy to commit housebreaking, and theft. In addition, David is charged with money laundering. All three pleaded not guilty as their case opened at the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Prosecutors claim the suspects broke into the president’s farm in Limpopo Province in February 2020 and made off with the cash. Ramaphosa later told the public that the money came from the sale of animals. The trial is expected to run for three weeks, with about 20 witnesses scheduled to testify, including some of the farm workers.
The case, widely known as “Farmgate,” first came to light in 2022 when former intelligence boss Arthur Fraser alleged that Ramaphosa had hidden up to $4 million on the farm. He further accused the president of using state security officials to hunt down the suspects and covering up the break-in.
Although investigators eventually cleared Ramaphosa of any crimes, the scandal nearly pushed Parliament into impeachment proceedings and left many questions about why such large sums of foreign cash were stored on the property in the first place.
The trial has been delayed multiple times, one reason being to allow Froliana Joseph to give birth. With the case now finally moving forward, it is under intense public and media scrutiny. Both critics and supporters of Ramaphosa are closely following the proceedings to see if new information will emerge about the 2020 theft and how it was handled.
