ActionSA enters Phala Phala battleground

THE fight to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable over the Phala Phala saga appears far from over as ActionSA has now set its sights on having access to the information that led to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate's (Ipid) report being shelved from the public.

- NICOLA DANIELS

The investigation relates to the alleged cover up of the theft of hundreds of thousands of US dollars in cash from Ramaphosa’s couches on his Phala Phala farm, in Limpopo in 2020.

Despite there being no police case opened, state resources including sophisticated machines deployed to intercept devices were used to track down the suspects who stole the cash. Once found, among them in Cape Town, the suspects were allegedly assaulted to disclose the whereabouts of the remaining cash. Some of it had already been spent on high end vehicles, jewellery and property in Namibia.

In 2022, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) wrote to Ipid requesting an investigation into the alleged police cover-up. However, in a written reply to a parliamentary question by ATM leader Vuyo Zungula in February, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, said the report related to the investigation was “top secret” and would not be made public, sparking public outcry.