Phala Phala burglars’ discharge bid dismissed, trial to continue
· Citizen
Magistrate Peter Manthata has dismissed the Section 174 discharge application brought by the three individuals accused of stealing $580 000 from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm, ordering the trial to proceed to the defence phase.
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Bid to have Phala Phala case thrown out
Imanuwela David and siblings Froliana and Ndilinasho Joseph had sought to have the case thrown out after the state closed its case, having called more than 20 witnesses.
On Friday, Manthata rejected the bid, ruling that sufficient evidence existed for all three to answer the charges against them.
“Considering the principles laid down in the above cases, I find that Accused 2 and 3 also have a case to answer,” the magistrate said.
“The application by Accused 1, 2 and 3 for discharge in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 51 of 1977 is dismissed.”
The three accused, who allegedly broke into the Bela Bela farm in 2020, will now face the defence phase of the trial, where their legal teams are expected to call their own witnesses.
Ramaphosa denies wrongdoing
Meanwhile, earlier in April, President Cyril Ramaphosa denied being involved in unauthorised investigations into the theft at his Phala Phala farm.
An Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) report found that the head of Ramaphosa’s police security unit, Major General Wally Rhoode, concealed the theft of the money from the president’s game farm.
The Ipid report found that although Ramaphosa informed Rhoode in 2020 about the break-in at Phala Phala, a case was only registered with the police two years later, after the theft was exposed by former State Security Agency director-general Arthur Fraser.