A sofa, $4m and a rising scandal for Ramaphosa

Local media have called it "Farmgate". Astonishing details have leaked over months, embroiling Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's affable president, in a plot that might be lifted directly from a gritty TV crime series.

- Jason Burke

The story begins with a complaint lodged by a disaffected former head of South Africa's intelligence service at a Johannesburg police station detailing the theft two years ago of $4m in cash from a farm owned by Ramaphosa in Limpopo province, two hours' drive north of his ranch in Pretoria, the administrative capital.

This was only the beginning. For reasons no one can explain, the cash was hidden in sofas. Instead of reporting the theft to the police, officers from the presidential protection force were allegedly dispatched to track down the missing money.

Having followed the trail to various parts of South Africa and neighbouring Namibia, the president's men found and interrogated the thieves, but then are alleged to have paid them to keep quiet. A domestic worker at the farm is also reported to have received money in return for silence.

So far Ramaphosa has admitted the theft took place, but said the money was the legitimate takings from a cattle auction and that he has done nothing wrong. After missing several deadlines and the threat of a subpoena, he faced questions from the Office of the Public Protector last Friday.

"It wasn't a case of the president taking long to answer the questions, it was just a case of he had a very packed schedule ... Unfortunately, we could not attend to this one in time," a spokesperson told reporters.