Phala-Phala Theft Suspects Return to Court, South Africans Demand Ramaphosa Be Arrested

Phala-Phala Theft Suspects Return to Court, South Africans Demand Ramaphosa Be Arrested

  • The three suspects accused of stealing money from President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala-Phala farm in Limpopo appeared in court again
  • They are facing various charges relating to the incident where almost $600,000 was stolen from the premises
  • Angry South Africans accused Ramaphosa of being the real culüprit and demanded to know why he was not arrested and in the docks

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Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered police investigations and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

The Phala Phala suspects appeared in court again
Mzansi wants Cyril Ramaphosa to be arrested for the Phala Phala theft. Images: SimpleImages and Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

BELA-BELA, LIMPOPO – The three suspects arrested for allegedly stealing from President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala-Phala farm in Limpopo have reappeared in court.

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Suspects appeared in court

The three suspects were arrested last year after allegedly stealing over R11 million in foreign currency from Ramaphosa's farm. According to SABC News, the National Prosecuting Authority promised more arrests would come as it applied to extradite two Namibian suspects in connection with the case.

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The siblings Floriana and Ndilinasho Joseph were released on bail, and the alleged mastermind, Imanuwela David, has been remanded. Their trial is expected to begin soon.

What you need to know about Phala Phala

President Ramaphosa tried to have the Phala Phala Report overturned but failed in his bid to the Constitutional Court

Kholeka Gcaleka, who was the acting public protector, cleared Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in the Phala Phala saga

Two of the suspects were arrested in Rustenburg in November

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Mzansi wants Ramaphosa arrested

Netizens on Facebook demanded that Ramaphosa must also face the music.

Ollie Daca said:

"The real culprit remains out of custody. Whistleblowers are always the targets."

KG Mokgala said:

"They are pinned for a crime they didn't commit. Ramaphosa is the one who should be on that stand answering for his criminal doings."

Surprise Sbusiso said:

"They must leave this guy and focus on Ramaphosa."

Fiso Qumbisa said:

"We are waiting for Ramaphosa to appear."

Tshepo Univ said:

"They forgot to arrest the person who did not put such a large amount of money in the bank."

Phala Phala suspect pleaded with the court to breastfeed newborn

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Joseph pleaded with the court to allow her to feed her newborn baby.

She revealed that she had recently given birth and was arrested before she could nurse her baby. The court granted her request.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Tebogo Mokwena avatar

Tebogo Mokwena (Current Affairs editor) Tebogo Mokwena is a Current Affairs Editor at Briefly News. He has a Diploma in Journalism from ALISON. He joined Daily Sun, where he worked for 4 years covering politics, crime, entertainment, current affairs, policy, governance and art. He was also a sub-editor and journalist for Capricorn Post before joining Vutivi Business News in 2020, where he covered small business news policy and governance, analysis and profiles. He joined Briefly News in 2023. Tebogo passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative Email: tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za