By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Modimolle Regional Court has dismissed Section 174 discharge application brought by the three individuals accused of stealing $580 000 at Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
Imanuwela David along with siblings Froliana & Ndilinasho Joseph are standing trial for burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm in 2020.
Magistrate Peter Manthata rejected the application, ruling that sufficient evidence existed for all three to answer the charges against them.
“Considering the principles laid down in the above cases, I find that Accused 2 and 3 also have a case to answer,” the magistrate said.
“The application by Accused 1, 2 and 3 for discharge in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 51 of 1977 is dismissed.”
The Phala Phala saga began in June 2022 when criminal charges were laid against Ramaphosa and members of his security detail.
Former director-general at the State Security Agency Arthur Fraser alleged that Ramaphosa and his team had covered up a 2020 burglary at his game farm, where large sums of foreign currency—concealed in furniture—were stolen.
The state has called 22 witnesses and presented evidence including cellphone records and mapping data to place the accused at the scene. A cellphone data analyst testified on communications and locations around the time of the theft, associating numbers with the suspects through technical methods like tower pings and call logs.
The case has seen numerous postponements due to health issues for the accused, legal arguments over evidence, and scheduling conflicts. In recent sessions, the state called a witness who changed his testimony, leading to him being declared hostile.
Ramaphosa admitted the money was stolen but said he relied on his security team to handle it discreetly to catch the thieves. This led to a parliamentary impeachment inquiry, a Public Protector investigation, and a South African Revenue Service probe, all of which cleared him in 2023.