Cape Town – There is no official record of request for a preservation order from the Namibian authorities relating to bank accounts and various properties including lodges, houses and vehicles suspected to have been purchased with the proceeds of the crime at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.
This is according to the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services after the Namibian Police Force released a scathing statement last Thursday, largely contradicting the South African government over the theft.
The Namibian side had stated that after the flow of money linked to the alleged suspects was identified, a preservation order was issued and a formal request was made through the Ministry of Justice to South Africa to confirm whether a crime was registered in South Africa.
Justice and Correctional Services spokesperson Chrispin Phiri had initially told the Cape Times that there was no record of any requests from their Namibian counterparts.
Then, following the statement by the Namibian government, he said they were engaging with their Namibian counterparts to establish if there was such a request.
On Tuesday, Phiri said they had confirmed that there was no record of the said request.
“We can categorically state that, to date, there is no official record of this specific request. South Africa and its sister republic Namibia continue to work together in a collaborative manner on issues of mutual legal assistance in accordance with the Southern African Development Community Protocol and other related bilateral treaties. So far there has not been any development that necessitates any change of approach when dealing with matters of this nature.”
Ramaphosa has been under fire to disclose the details of the 2020 robbery after former SA State Security Agency director general Arthur Fraser lodged a criminal complaint against him. The Hawks have since taken over that case and recently met Fraser who is said to have provided them with more evidence on the incident.
Cape Times