Phala Phala: Two suspects appear in court – Here’s what we know about them

Two suspects accused of being involved in the robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm made their first appearance at the Bela Bela Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Imanuwela David and Froliana Joseph have been charged with housebreaking and theft related to the incident.

They will appear again on Friday for a formal bail application.

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

Who are the accused?

According to Daily Maverick, David (39) – who is believed to be the mastermind behind the theft of the millions of dollars suspected to have been taken – fled to Namibia four months after the crime, with the help of two forex traders.

Imanuwela David

According to a Namibian police report seen by amaBhungane, when David was questioned by Namibian police, he claimed to have paid a certain “Papa J” R50 000 “to arrange people in Namibia and RSA to smuggle him into Namibia”. 

AmaBhungane established the identity of Papa J, whose real name is Mfundo Jele, as well as one of the individuals in the car that took David to the border — a man named Prince Mazibuko. David crossed the border without incident but when Namibian intelligence received information about this, they acted quickly.

This after Sergeant Hendrik Nghede admitted to helping David, along with a chief executive of a Namibian state-owned fisheries company, to move him through the country. 

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Froliana Joseph

The other accused, Joseph (30), was a cleaner at Phala Phala lodge, who allegedly found the US dollars hidden in furniture.

In an interview with News24, she said she was questioned by a group of police officers just days after former spy boss Arthur Fraser listed names of people he believed to be behind the heist.

“I don’t know any of those guys… I have no idea about that story, I just saw in the newspaper that my name is there and that I stole the money, and I don’t know anything,” she said. 

“Why are they not looking for the guys that stole the money? I don’t know anything. I would have left a long time ago if I stole money,” she said. 

The arrests

Though the incident occurred in February 2020, and suspected millions of rand were stolen, the Hawks arrested the suspects on Sunday and Monday at different locations.

“The pair was arrested in Rustenburg and Bela Bela, respectively, by the National Serious Corruption Investigation [unit]…” said Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale upon the arrests.

He added they believe the arrest of a third suspect was imminent.

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