Imanuwela David, Ndilinasho Joseph Froliana Joseph in the dock
Phala Phala Theft Case Postponed to end of November
Three suspects appeared at a regional court in Limpopo province on Monday accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of cash from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s game farm in 2020.
Imanuwela David, Ndilinasho Joseph and Froliana Joseph are facing charges pertaining to conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal and theft and housebreaking with intent to steal and money laundering.
Defence lawyer Advocate Koena Matala urged the court to delay the pre-trial, citing the late receipt of the docket.
“To postpone the matter for pre-trial will be a difficult mountain to climb on the day that the court will be sitting in, saying that you agree to the date for pre-trail, may it be for purposes of consultations and on the date of the 26th (November 2024) we will then inform the court on the readiness that we are in.”
His decision follows discussions around the late provision of the docket to the defence and the request for adequate preparation time for the pre-trial proceedings.
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“The postponement of the case is to give legal representatives time to consult with their clients, and they will inform me on the 26th of November on what has been done and what the difficulty in consulting, and then I will deal with the issue as it will be on the next court hearing,” said Peter.
The alleged mastermind, Imanuwela David, remains in custody while the siblings’ bail has been extended.
The incident, dubbed “Farmgate”, came to light when South Africa’s former spy chief, Arthur Fraser, told police in June 2022 about the incident and accused Ramaphosa of money laundering, corruption and covering up a large theft of foreign currency.
In June 2023 the anti-corruption watchdog cleared Ramaphosa of a potential conflict of interest related to the money found inside a sofa on his Phala Phala game farm.