What Ramaphosa told Section 89 panel about Phala Phala robbery

President Cyril Ramaphosa has told the section 89 panel of legal experts, headed by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, exactly what transpired on his Phala Phala Farm when foreign currency was stolen in 2020. 

In his version of events, the president informed the panel how some $580,000 got to be kept in cushions of a sofa in a spare bedroom of his  private residence at the Phala Phala Game Farm, following the sale of a number of buffalo to a Sudanese businessman in December 2019.

LISTEN | Phala phala report and its significance

He also detailed the steps he took after being informed of the theft of the money, denying that  he instructed a police officer to recoup the money and said it was not true that the suspects were “detained and tortured".

Laying out his version of events in his submission to the panel, Ramaphosa said Phala Phala Wildlife is a game farm, which was managed by Hendrik von Wielligh when the incident happened.

“The cattle farming operations started in 2001 in Mpumalanga province. Game and cattle farming have become a personal passion of mine. One I share with many other heads of state on our continent, including former heads of states like Nelson Mandela, who also had cattle in his farmstead in Qunu in the Eastern Cape.”

The farm is home to buffalo, sable, roan, black and white impala, wildebeest, kudu and other antelopes within a game reserve type of environment, he said.

“Ankole cattle are also bred and kept on the farm. The wild animals and cattle we farm with reproduce and their numbers almost double on an annual basis.”

To manage the increasing numbers, Ramaphosa said the animals are usually either culled or sold, this was no different to the activities at Phala Phala.

“There are a number of buildings situated at Phala Phala Wildlife. One of these buildings is a private residence that I occupy on occasion when I visit the farm.

“Separate to that building are a set of other buildings, including a large office and conference building called the Bayeto Centre, and hospitality buildings such as individual rooms – much like a game lodge – lounge areas, a kitchen and an area in which food can be served to guests.”

While some of these premises are used for extended family gatherings, he said sometimes they are used for events, meetings, workshops and for his foundations.

Ramaphosa and Von Weilligh had been discussing disposing buffalo since 2019 because their veterinary bill and the feeding of the animals were financially draining the business.

“The view that had been taken was that they should be sold as a parcel because this made better financial sense than selling them individually.”

He then advised Von Wielligh that there were potential buyers of these buffalo from the Middle East and other African countries, adding that this disposal of animals in this manner was not unusual.

On December 26 2019, Ramaphosa said he went to his farm and the lodge manager, a man named "Mr Ndlovu" told him about a Sudanese businessman Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim, who had come to see the buffalos that were for sale.

“Ndlovu showed Hazim the buffalos in camp 6 and Hazim identified those that he liked the look of. Hazim made payment in cash in the sum of US$580,000 to Ndlovu.”

After receiving the money, Ramaphosa said Ndlovu gave Hazim a receipt.

“After Hazim had left Phala Phala, Ndlovu took the money and locked it in the safe at the Bayeto Centre office. When Ndlovu spoke to me on December 26 2019, the cash he had received was still in the safe at the Bayeto Centre.

“I was heading to Cape Town for the remainder of the festive season and since Von Wielligh was away, I said the money ought to be kept on the farm until Von Wielligh would have the opportunity to process matters related to the transaction and thereafter have the money banked.”

Ramaphosa left the farm on December 27 while Ndlovu was due to go on leave on December 30.

“He (Ndlovu) felt uncomfortable about leaving the money in the safe at the Bayeto Centre because he was concerned that several staff members had access to the safe. He decided that the safest place to store the money was inside my private residence on the farm.

“He stored the money below cushions of a sofa in a spare bedroom that is hardly ever used, inside my private residence, because he thought it was the safest place, as he believed nobody would break into the president’s house.”

Ramaphosa denied having personal knowledge of the theft but said on February  10 2020 – the day after the theft – he was told by Von Wielligh that there was a security breach at Phala Phala Farm.

“Von Wielligh sent footage to me from the CCTV cameras situated outside my private residence at Phala Phala, which shows intruders who were seeking to enter my private residence. I then arranged for Major-General (Wally) Rhoode, the head of the Presidential Protection Service (PPS), to visit me in my room, at our hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“At our meeting, I informed Rhoode that I had received information that there had been a breach of security at Phala Phala and requested him to attend to the matter and report back to me."

The president said soon after the security breach was reported to him, Ndlovu contacted him to tell him that the money that he had kept in his house had been stolen.

“On my return from Addis Ababa I went straight to Cape Town to attend a cabinet meeting and thereafter to prepare for the State Of the Nation Address.”

During the month of February in 2020, Ramaphosa visited the farm to “examine” and to be “briefed fully” on what had transpired, as well as to confirm that the money had indeed been stolen.

After his visit he asked Rhoode to meet him at his Hyde Park home, where he informed him about the money from the sale that was “missing from his private residence” at the farm.

“It was agreed that Major-General Rhoode would confer with his superiors and revert to me on the way forward. I trusted that General Rhoode would take the necessary steps from a security point of view regarding my safety following the security breach at my residence, and take any other steps required to report and deal with the information I had shared with him.”

After the robbery, the presidential protection services were then deployed to be stationed on the farm.

In his submissions, Ramaphosa denied giving Rhoode instruction to recoup the money and said it was not true that the suspects were “detained and tortured”.

The domestic worker who allegedly told the suspects about the money has never been reinstated.

“I categorically deny that I have violated this oath in any way, and I similarly deny that I am guilty of any of the allegations made against me…”

He added that claims made by the ATM, UDM and EFF are based on “hearsay” allegations.

“No evidence, let alone sufficient evidence, has been presented to prove that I committed any violation, let alone a serious violation of the constitution or law, or serious misconduct as set out in the constitution.”

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