2020 Phala Phala Robbery

2020 Phala Phala Robbery
Date9 February 2020
LocationPhala Phala Private Game Farm
MotiveBurglary
Outcomean indeterminate amount of money stolen

The 2020 Phala Phala Robbery or Cyril Ramaphosa Farm Burglary or Farmgate Scandal was a burglary of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's private Phala Phala game farm near Bela-Bela, Limpopo, South Africa.[1][2][3] The incident occurred on 9 February 2020 in which an indeterminate amount of cash was stolen. Arthur Fraser, an ally[4] of former President Jacob Zuma alleged that around 4 million US dollars (60 million rand) of undeclared foreign currency had been stolen.[5][6] However, subsequent reports indicated that the amount stolen was $580 000[7] Ramaphosa denied any wrongdoing,[8] and sought judicial review of a report by a panel appointed by the South African Parliament released in 2022 that accused him of "serious misconduct".[8] Opposition parties and MPs have slammed investigations into the source of the cash, and have accused the South African Reserve Bank of a providing claptrap report and systemic coverup. The Democratic Alliance intends to pursue the courts to further investigate the matter.[9]

  1. ^ Sadike, Mashudu. "Cyril Ramaphosa denies involvement in crime after R60m stolen from his Phala Phala farm". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  2. ^ Davis, Rebecca (7 June 2022). "SPIES R US EXPLAINER: Unpacking the Cyril Ramaphosa home robbery story, and why you should care". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  3. ^ Ndenze, Babalo. "Cele: Presidential Protection Unit head knew about robbery at Ramaphosa farm". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  4. ^ de Villiers, James (9 September 2021). "EXPLAINER | 'The spy who saved Zuma' - what you need to know about Arthur Fraser". News24.
  5. ^ Omarjee, Hajra (7 June 2022). "Hawks take over the probe into the burglary at Ramaphosa's game farm". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  6. ^ Mbatha, Amogelang (7 June 2022). "Ramaphosa to appear before ANC after farm robbery". Moneyweb. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  7. ^ Cowan, Kyle (6 September 2022). "Phala Phala: Mystery Sudanese businessman paid $580 000 to Ramaphosa's farmhand 45 days before theft". News24.
  8. ^ a b Burke, Jason (3 December 2022). "South Africa president to mount legal action in face of impeachment threat". The Guardian.
  9. ^ Cronje, Jan (30 August 2023). "Phala couch cash was 'security deposit', says Reserve Bank governor amid grilling by MPs". News24.