Cape Town — A house that was allegedly bought with the money stolen from Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in 2020, was later sold to a Namibian national.
This was revealed at the Bela Bela Magitsrate’s Court during the bail application of the Imanuwela David. David, and two other suspects, Froliana Joseph and her brother, David Joseph, are accused of the housebreaking and theft of $580 000 in cash in February 2020, EWN reported.
According to investigating officer, Ludi Schnelle, said David had splashed the cash he stole from the farm on himself, his girlfriend, and his friends, including buying a new Mercedes-Benz and a house for R900 000.
“This transaction was flagged by the Financial Intelligence Centre as a suspicious transaction and the purchase of this property was facilitated using the illicit funds stolen during the housebreaking at Phala Phala,” Schnelle said.
The bail application for the alleged mastermind behind the Phala Phala burglary, Imanuwela David, continues today at the Bela Bela Magistrate Court in Limpopo.
Investigating Officer, Ludi Schnelle, will wrap up in his oral evidence before being cross-examined by the defence. TCG pic.twitter.com/xFooYd2zFM
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) December 7, 2023
Schnelle said this house had since been transferred to a Namibian national by the name of Hafeni Felish for an undisclosed amount.
The investigating officer said that the house was now being rented out to someone unrelated to this case.
According to another EWN report, David said he was a South African citizen but had siblings in Namibia. He revealed he once skipped the border illegally to visit his sick grandmother in Namibia.
David added that he was not a flight risk and that he has cooperated with police throughout the entire case.
“I am saying that if I wanted to run away about this case, I could run away a long time ago – even the time I was crossing the border when they were checking me. If I was having that mentality of running away, I would have gone long time,” David said.
Schnelle will resume his testimony on Thursday.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
