Phala Phala farmgate: Ramaphosa a victim of robbery, not a thief – Mantashe

Shortly before delivering the opening address at the ANC provincial conference in Gauteng, Gwede Mantashe defended President Cyril Ramaphosa amid the Phala Phala scandal.

Mantashe, who is an alleged beneficiary of Bosasa state capture corruption, said Ramaphosa was the victim of a robbery, he is not a thief.

Phala Phala farmgate

Gwede defends Ramaphosa

The Phala Phala scandal wasn’t “about a president [who] has stolen resources”. Instead, it’s an “issue of a president whose money was stolen”, he said.

“Therefore, if that money was in the wrong place at the wrong time, SARS must deal with that issue and the Reserve Bank must deal with exchange controls”.

WATCH: Mantashe on Phala Phala scandal

“We will follow all the outcomes and take action”, Mantashe concluded.

This follows after former spy boss Arthur Fraser filed criminal charges against Ramaphosa for the alleged theft of approximately R62 million in cash kept at his Phala Phala farm. 

Earlier, Mantashe attempted to brush off Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s State Capture report, saying: “it’s just a commission’s finding, not a court judgement.”

WATCH: Inside Ramaphosa’s game farm

Bosasa corruption

You may recall part three of the state capture report highlighted how Bosasa executives reportedly used their political connections to score lucrative contracts.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, for example, enjoyed security upgrades and renovations at his homes.

Based on the testimonies given by Angelo Agrizzi and other witnesses, Zondo concluded: “Bosasa established a reasonably well-organised network of well-placed, well-connected and powerful people”.

At the time, Mantashe said Zondo’s “commission made a lot of assumptions that are not based on facts or interview”.

“We did take time and went to the Commission, but the Commission doesn’t take decisions in the best interests of evidence given, in fact, it discredits evidence.”

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