By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The trial of the three accused in the theft of millions of rand in foreign currency at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala Farm in Bela-Bela, kicked off at the Modimolle regional court.
Immanuela David and siblings Floriana and Ndilinasho Joseph have been charged for the February 2020 break-in and theft at the farm.
They are accused of breaking in and stealing $580 000 (about R10.4 million at today’s exchange rate).
The trio are facing counts of conspiracy to commit house breaking with intent to steal and theft, two counts of house breaking with intent to steal and theft, and money laundering, which is applicable to accused one (Immanuwela David).
During proceedings, state prosecutor Nkhetheni Munyai applied for the identities of the witnesses to be concealed because they had a “fear of reprisal” due to the high-profile nature of the case.
Munyai told the court that “if the identities of witnesses are revealed, it may increase the likelihood of future witnesses adjusting their evidence to match that of those who testified before them”.
The prosecutor also argued against the defence’s submission that the witnesses should be shown because the three accused’s identities were already public.
“These are from two different vantage points, the accused are on trial which is in the public interest, but the witnesses are not,” Munyai said, adding that the witnesses’ evidence could be broadcast without revealing their identities.
However, David’s legal representative, Advocate Koena Matala, insisted that the situations were similar, saying his client’s image and family were at risk.
Matlala also argued that the witnesses’ names were known to the media and that the state’s application “did not carry weight”.
“There is no risk or prejudice that any of the witnesses are going to suffer,” he said. The Joseph siblings’ lawyer expressed similar views.
The court ultimately ruled that the identity of the witnesses should not be revealed as the defence had not objected in previous proceedings.
After a brief adjournment, the former lodge manager at Phala Phala became the first witness to testify, sharing details of how Mustafa came to the game farm on 25 December 2019.
The former employee testified that he found it odd that the purchase for the 20 buffaloes was done via cash — amounting to R8 million — at the farm, as transactions were usually done through the bank.
“I then explained to him that I’m going to give him an invoice,” he said, adding that a receipt of acknowledgement of payment was also given to Mustafa.
He confirmed that he was the person who moved the cash from the safe to the couch.
“I was afraid to leave that money inside the safe because everyone has access to that room where the safe was because we kept documents, the keys for the rooms of the farm and also documents for the animals that are being bred there at the farm.”
“So I was afraid to leave it there because if it ended up not being there, I will be in trouble.
“I then took the money to the house of Ramaphosa in thinking that the money will be safe because it is the house of the president and the whole house has cameras,” he said.
The former lodge manager said there is a spare room used as a bedroom by one of Ramaphosa’s children, but it is not used regularly.
“It is only used maybe once or twice in a year when there is a family function or gathering and they come to the farm.
“It is the room that I thought would be the safest and inside that room there was a sofa.
“After putting the money under the sofa, I removed the cushions that were on top of the sofa, took out the money inside the bags and placed that money on that sofa.”
The next day, on December 26, Ramaphosa, who was coming from his other farm in Mpumalanga and heading to Cape Town for a holiday, passed by Phala Phala farm.
“I then explained to him everything that had happened and he told me he is going on a holiday and we will deal with money when the general manager is back. Ramaphosa said he would explain to the general manager about the money because there wasn’t any decision taken on whether we were going to take the money — we were still going to talk about it,” he said.
When he went on leave, the general manager was not yet back. When he returned from leave on January 13, 2020, the money was still there when he checked.
On February 10, while at a sister farm of Phala Phala, he received a call from a housekeeper from the main house asking him to come urgently. When he got to the house, he was shown the sliding door, which was open, and the open curtains, which prompted him to start inspecting the place.
He said he found a window open with a scratch mark and a broken handle. He also found that some cameras had been moved while some were broken. When he went into the room where he had stashed the money, he discovered it was no longer there, he said.
Meanwhile Presidential Protection Services head Major-General Wally Rhoode has been cleared of wrongdoing by the SAPS after the conclusion of a disciplinary hearing into findings made against him by Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka two years ago.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said Rhoode was subjected to a disciplinary hearing in terms of the SAPS disciplinary regulations.
“He was found not guilty of any misconduct related to the findings of the Public Protector in that he conducted an illegal investigation in relation to the robbery at the Phala Phala farm of the President, M C Ramaphosa, in Limpopo in February 2020, “Cachalia said.
He also said Rhoode was still an active member of the SAPS and held the position of head of Presidential Protection Service.
Cachalia was responding to parliamentary question about the disciplinary action taken against Rhoode after Gcaleka found that he conducted an illegal investigation into robbery at the Phala-Phala farm in February 2020.