Third suspect in Phala Phala Farm theft case to appear in court on Friday

The third suspect in the Phala Phala farm theft case will appear with Imanuwela David and Frolina Joseph at the Bela Bela Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

The suspect, 27, was arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on Thursday afternoon after he handed himself over to the Bela Bela police.

The suspect, David, 39, and Joseph, 30, who are charged with housebreaking and theft, are suspected of stealing $580 000, or roughly R10.6 million, from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo game farm in 2020.

David and Joseph appeared in court for the first time on Monday.

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Suspect involved in housebreaking and theft

According to Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale, the 27-year-old suspect is alleged to have had a hand in the housebreaking and theft.

The suspect will join David and Joseph in court on Friday, after the two’s respective arrests on Sunday in Rustenburg and Monday in Bela Bela.

David and Joseph are charged with a variety of offences, including money laundering, conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal and theft and housebreaking with intent to steal.

Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, the regional spokesperson for the NPA in Limpopo, said the investigations showed that on 1 January 2020, the accused planned to break into a house with the intention of stealing something from the farm.

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Break-in happened on 9 January, 2020

On 8 January, 2020, David and two other people went into the Stokkiesdraai farm, thinking it was Phala Phala’s property.

“They broke and entered, but nothing was stolen. The following night, they located the Phala Phala farm, where they broke, entered, and stole $580 000,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.

David is thought to have been the mastermind behind the theft and may have been transported to Namibia four months following the incident. 

It is said that Joseph, a cleaner who worked as a temporary employee of Phala Phala lodge, discovered the money concealed among Ramaphosa’s well-known couches.

ALSO READ: Hawks arrest two suspects for Phala Phala farm robbery

Additional reporting by Lunga Simelane