The Office of the Public Protector has cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of wrongdoing in the Phala Phala burglary scandal, finding that he fulfilled his obligations to declare his interests in his farms and report the matter to the police.
Under Acting Public Protector, advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, a report was circulated to all parties for their final inputs this week, News24 has established.
While the report is a significant victory for Ramaphosa, who has maintained his innocence in the affair, it does raise serious questions for the head of the Presidential Protection Service, Major General Wally Rhoode, who Gcaleka found abused his position in launching an off-the-books investigation that utilised police resources.
It is also at odds with a report by a parliamentary panel, headed by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, that found the president had a case to answer. A full investigation by the National Assembly, as recommended by the Ncgobo panel, was quashed when the ANC majority House voted not to adopt the report.
The Public Protector also could not investigate tax matters, or foreign exchange control regulations that fall under the mandate of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), respectively.
SARS issued a statement this week confirming that Ntaba Nyoni Estates and Ntaba Nyoni Feedlot, the two corporate entities involved in the running of Phala Phala and Ntaba Nyoni – the president’s two farms – had been audited and that both companies’ tax affairs were in order.
The Public Protector found Ramaphosa had appropriately declared his interests in the companies in a confidential register that is maintained by the director-general in the Presidency and secretary of Cabinet, in this case, Phindile Baleni.
The SARB had also instituted an investigation, but the outcome of any such probe remains unclear.
She also found that it was not proper for the president’s advisor, Bejani Chauke, to have travelled to Namibia to meet with President Hein Geingob with a police escort, that her office determined was approved by former national police commissioner, Khehla Sitole.
Ndili Msoki, the acting spokesperson for the Office of the Public Protector, confirmed that a notice was delivered to those affected and implicated in the investigation on Friday, together with the preliminary findings. Recipients have 10 days to respond, which will be considered before a final report is produced.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed receipt of the preliminary report.
“As stated before, we reiterate that the president did not participate in any wrongdoing, nor did he violate the oath of his office. Instead, the president was a victim of a crime that he duly reported to the relevant authorities.”
On the night of 9 February 2020, at least two as yet unidentified men gained access to Ramaphosa’s house at Phala Phala farm, near Bela-Bela in Limpopo, and stole an undisclosed amount of dollars stuffed under a sofa cushion.
Ramaphosa has claimed that $580 000 in cash was paid to his former farm manager, Sylvester Ndlovu, by Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa on Christmas Day in 2019. The cash was in exchange for a group of buffaloes, the president has maintained, even though more than three years later, the buffaloes remained on the farm.
Last week, SARS said it could not find any record of a declaration form Mustafa has claimed he completed on his arrival in South Africa in response to a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request filed by DA leader John Steenhuisen.
