Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) head General Godfrey Lebeya has thrown down the Phala Phala gauntlet, saying his directorate has done all it could in the investigation concerning President Cyril Ramaphosa and the theft of $540 000 at his farm in the Limpopo.
In an exclusive round table discussion with Cape Times sister publication, The Star, Lebeya defended his directorate and placed the case, and the failure thereof to prosecute, at the door of the NPA and the National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamilla Batohi.
In what became a scandal that rocked South Africa and the world, the investigation began after former SSA Director General Arthur Fraser laid a complaint against Ramaphosa in June 2022. Fraser alleged that Ramaphosa had failed to report the theft of foreign currency at the Phala Phala game farm in February 2020. The Hawks' investigation involved gathering statements from various individuals, including Fraser, and examining evidence related to the robbery. By August 2022, the Hawks had obtained 41 statements as part of their investigation the Hawks however did not arrest Ramaphosa as was expected. The popular narrative was that Ramaphosa broke the internal and international law by the trading in foreign currency, keeping millions of undeclared dollars in his person(or at his home) and not reporting that a crime had happened at his home. Ramaphosa also allegedly broke his oath of office by confirming that he participated in a business trade while he was still in office as president of the Republic.
Lebeya said there was nothing that the Hawks didn’t do.
“One would have to show us what we didn’t do or what we missed on Phala Phala. We investigated thoroughly and handed the docket to the NPA. It is the NPA’s responsibility to prosecute, not the Hawks. We did a thorough investigation as we always aim to do. When we do investigations we do it in such a way that those who are unhappy can review the prospect of a private prosecution” Lebeya said.
Batohi has been widely criticised for not acting against Ramaphosa.
The DA has urged Batohi to reconsider the NPA’s decision not to pursue prosecution in the Phala Phala farm scandal. This comes after the NPA announced on October 9 that the Director of Public Prosecutions in Limpopo, Advocate Mukhali Thenga, had decided not to prosecute following a comprehensive investigation by the Hawks.
While Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing, many legal scholars have expressed concerns over what looks like a cover-up, a lack currency controls and severe tax implications.
The DA expressed concern that the decision not to prosecute was made despite critical evidence, such as CCTV footage and mobile phone records, reportedly linking the accused to the burglary and potential financial irregularities. Glynnis Breytenbach, the DA spokesperson on justice and constitutional development, emphasized that the public has the right to know how the NPA reached this conclusion and that the decision requires far more transparency.
Lebeya has however insisted on the Hawks’ independence.
“The directorate does not follow politics, political factions or any such thing. We investigate according to evidence. We are an investigative body, we have our work and we allow the NPA and the courts to do its work” Lebeya said.
While the NPA has side-skipped the Phala Phala matter, the ‘dollar-thieves’ were identified and charged. The main suspects include Immanuwela David, Urbanus Shaumbwako, Erkki Shikongo, Petrus Muhekeni, and Petrus Afrikaner. Immanuwela David was arrested in June 2020 for entering Namibia illegally and was found with luxury goods and cash. He was sentenced to a year in jail but served only 48 hours before being deported back to South Africa. Shaumbwako, a Namibian citizen, was arrested in October 2020 for possession of unlicensed firearms. Shikongo admitted to smuggling gold, guns, and dollars between Namibia, Angola, and South Africa but denied any involvement in the Phala Phala robbery.
Cape Times