Court to rule in Phala Phala farm theft case

Judgment is expected on Monday morning in the Phala Phala farm theft case at the Modimolle Regional Court in Limpopo. Three accused, Imanuwela David and siblings Froliana and Ndilinasho Joseph, are alleged to have stolen $580 000 from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in February 2020. The accused face charges including theft, conspiracy to commit theft, money laundering and housebreaking. The case came to light in June 2022 after the former Intelligence boss Arthur Fraser opened a criminal case against Ramaphosa at a police station in Johannesburg. He accused him of failing to declare the foreign currency to the Reserve Bank and also allegedly using improper methods to retrieve the stolen money. The suspected thieves were arrested in November 2023. One of the accused, Froliana Joseph, is a former domestic worker at the game farm. Magistrate Peter Manthata will hand down the judgment after the matter has been in court for three years. RELATED VIDEO | Background on Phala Phala theft case: Reporting by Rendani Raliphaswa.