By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has completed an investigation on the Phala Phala farm break-in in October 2023, but the report is classified as “top secret”.
IPID investigated the conduct of VIP officers assigned to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who are believed to have set off on a wild goose chase to Namibia to track down the US dollars stolen from the president’s Limpopo farm in 2020.
This was revealed by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in a written reply to a parliamentary question by African Transformation leader (ATM) leader Vuyo Zungula.
Mchunu said it’s disingenuous to suggest he’s suppressing the report.
ATM has been at the forefront of demanding answers about the burglary at Phala Phala since former spy boss Arthur Fraser dropped the bombshell in an affidavit to police.
Fraser claimed the suspects who broke into the president’s property were subsequently kidnapped, interrogated and paid off to keep silent.
Although the Public Protector and the Reserve Bank both released their reports on their investigations in 2023, Mchunu has told parliament IPID won’t be doing the same.
ATM’s Vuyo Zungula said he’s made nine requests to the office and laid eleven complaints.
But Mchunu said until the report is declassified, it won’t be made public.
“It is impermissible to make available a classified report for the purpose that the ATM has requested it for. In essence, there is no delay in making the report available, but it is not allowed to make it available,” said Mchunu.
Mchunu goes on to say that he also can’t reveal whether police have followed through on remedial action recommended by the public protector.
Among those whose conduct was investigated was the head of the presidential protection unit – major general Wally Rhoode.
Mchunu said he’s not violating the executive ethics code by not sharing the findings of the IPID investigation.
The minister is alive to the implication of the executive ethics code and clearly comprehends its content. However, it is incorrect to suggest that the minister might be involved in an untoward conduct when there is no basis for such insinuation,” said Mchunu.
While the Ipid reports remains “Top Secret” the SA Reserve Bank cleared Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in its investigation into the millions of undisclosed foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala farm.
In October last year, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala matter, saying the decision was made following a thorough evaluation of all relevant evidence that the Hawks had provided to the prosecutors.
Limpopo director of public prosecutions (DPP) advocate Mukhali Ivy Thenga came to the conclusion that the evidence in the docket did not support a “reasonable likelihood of a successful prosecution”.