In February 2020, thieves took cash worth about $600,000 from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farmhouse. This was much less than the millions of dollars that were first thought to have been taken. Hendrik von Wielligh, who runs Ramaphosa’s farm, was paid about R9 million for the sale of one buffalo, News24 has learned.
News24 thinks the buyer was from Dubai, but the name of the person who paid cash is still unknown, even though it has been sent to the Public Protector. People also thought that the money was hidden under a mattress or couch cushion, but it was actually kept in a cupboard.
Former State Security Agency director-general Arthur Fraser opened a criminal case against Ramaphosa and his head of security, Major General Wally Rhoode, over the burglary and alleged cover-up. At first, he thought that around $4 million was taken.
In a statement to the Public Protector, Rhoode said he didn’t know how much money was taken. In February 2020, when they were both in Addis Ababa for an African Union meeting, Ramaphosa told him about the break-in. About a month later, at the beginning of March 2020, he was called to Ramaphosa’s home in Johannesburg and told that money had been stolen.
Rhoode says he told Lieutenant General Sindile Mfazi, who was the deputy national police commissioner at the time. He says Mfazi told him to “gather more information.” Rhoode then did this by talking to Froliana Joseph, a “temporary worker,” and her brother, David.
News24 had already found Joseph, and she denied that she knew anything about the burglary. Rhoode said that the interviews were voluntary and not like interrogations. He also said that he gave Mfazi the information he had gathered because he is not allowed to register dockets. Rhoode also says that he and Bejani Chauke, who is Ramaphosa’s special advisor, will go to Namibia in June 2020 to meet with the president of Namibia, Hage Geingob.
In his statement, Rhoode said that he was not there when Chauke and Geingob met. They went to the Nakop border post, where a police helicopter picked them up and took them to Windhoek. He says that the trip was for AU business and that he had already given Mfazi the investigation of the break-in. In July 2021, Mfazi died. At first, it was thought that he had died because of problems with Covid-19. However, at the request of his family, his body was dug up, and toxicology reports showed traces of toxic casting resin. This led police to confirm that they are not looking into a murder case.
Special circumstances
Rhoode’s story was supported by an affidavit from National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola, who also said that no case had been opened about the burglary. Early in June, Fraser filed a criminal complaint with the police. He said that Rhoode had illegally entered Namibia, raided homes in Cape Town, paid bribes to the suspects, and recovered goods bought with the stolen money as part of a large-scale cover-up.
Fraser said that Rhoode put together a team of current and former police Crime Intelligence officials to investigate the burglary in secret. In his letter to the Public Protector, Rhoode strongly denied Fraser’s claims. Since June 2018, Rhoode has been in charge of the Presidential Protection Service. He was hired to be in charge of security for Ramaphosa’s successful CR17 ANC presidential campaign, which led to him being elected leader of the ruling party in December 2017.
The statement was made in response to a series of questions asked by Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who is no longer the Public Protector. Ramaphosa has also given a response to the investigation, which is looking into whether or not he broke the Executive Members Ethics Act and the code of conduct that goes with it. News24 believes that Ramaphosa will try to challenge jurisdiction. The Public Protector can only look into complaints about things that happened within the last two years or show that there were special circumstances that made an investigation necessary.
Before the investigation could begin, the special circumstances would have had to be set up. This means that acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has to rely on the reasons set up by Mkhwebane and her team.
“Absolutely fine”
JP Smith, who is in charge of operations at Wildswinkel, the largest game auction house in the country, told News24 that it was not unusual for a buffalo to sell for around R8 million.
“The wildlife trade goes through cycles, just like any other trade, and right now we are seeing a very good sign that prices are going back to normal after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. “The base hunting price for buffalo is very high, which keeps the prices of animals that are good for breeding stable,” said Smith. “It is also common for a private sale of a certain animal to bring in more money than what can be gotten at an auction. Private deals are usually made between the producer and the buyer, who has specific needs or wants a certain trait for breeding. In many cases, this can come with a higher price.
Smith added:
When you consider that a buffalo bull sold at auction for R30 million in September 2019, I think [Ramaphosa’s price of R9 million] sounds totally normal. It is very likely that the right animal could get that five months later, before the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2016, two buffalo bulls made headlines because they sold for very high prices. Horison was worth R178 million after a series of deals for shares in the bull, and Inala sold for R168 million.
Two years later, an auction in the Eastern Cape sold a buffalo cow that Horison had used to get pregnant for R4.5 million. In 2013, Johan Rupert, who is the richest person in South Africa, paid R40 million for Cape buffalo bull Mystery. In 2012, Ramaphosa publicly apologized when it came out that he had bid R18 million on a pregnant buffalo.