A South African court convicted two people in the 2020 theft of $580,000 from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm, a case that became entangled with allegations over the cash.
The Citizen and TimesLIVE reported that the Modimolle Regional Court found Imanuwela David and Froliana Joseph guilty on Nov. 2 in connection with the burglary. David was also convicted of money laundering. The court acquitted Ndilinasho Joseph, Froliana’s brother.
TimesLIVE and the Mail & Guardian reported that Magistrate Peter Manthata viewed David’s post-burglary spending as circumstantial evidence. Manthata also criticized an investigation that produced no fingerprints or CCTV footage capable of showing who broke in.
A Constitutional Court judgment places the break-in at Ramaphosa’s private residence at Phala Phala, a game farm in Limpopo, on Feb. 9, 2020. The judgment provides the date and location; it did not decide the criminal charges in the Modimolle case.
Former National Commissioner for Correctional Services Arthur Fraser made allegations public in 2022 that Ramaphosa had concealed the robbery from authorities. The Constitutional Court judgment records Fraser’s estimate that $4 million to $8 million in foreign currency was taken. Ramaphosa disputed Fraser’s account and said the amount was much smaller.
In the separate judgment, Ramaphosa said the cash came from a Dec. 25, 2019, sale of 20 buffalo to a Sudanese businessman. The judgment attributes that explanation to Ramaphosa; it is not a finding in the theft trial.
The National Prosecuting Authority said in Oct. 2024 that it would not prosecute Ramaphosa or others over Fraser’s complaint, citing no reasonable prospect of a successful prosecution. That decision was separate from the criminal trial in Modimolle.
The verdict addresses the defendants’ role in the theft case, not the separate claims about the source of the money or Ramaphosa’s handling of the matter. Proceedings before sentencing are scheduled for Nov. 13.
