By Mapaballo Borotho
- An IPID report has recommended disciplinary action against President Cyril Ramaphosa’s head of security over the Phala Phala theft.
- The report alleges an off-the-books operation to recover stolen cash using state resources.
- The findings add pressure amid ongoing legal and political scrutiny surrounding the matter.
A 2023 report from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has found that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s head of protection and another officer could face disciplinary charges linked to the Phala Phala farm theft.
The report, which was published by ActionSA, recommends disciplinary action against the President’s Head of Security, Major-General Wally Rhoode, and Presidential Protection Unit constable Hlulani Rekhoto.
Rhoode is accused of concealing the theft of millions of US dollars from a couch at the Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
According to the IPID report, Ramaphosa informed Rhoode in 2020 about a break-in at his Phala Phala farm and the subsequent theft of $580,000 in cash.
However, a case number for the matter was only registered with the police two years later, after it was publicly exposed by former State Security Agency director-general Arthur Fraser.
The IPID report shows that in 2020, Rhoode ran an off-the-books operation to recover the president’s money.
This reportedly included interviewing suspects at the Limpopo-based farm, pursuing leads in Cape Town, and Namibia.
The report states that Rhoode used police resources for this operation, while disguising the trips in official records as work carried out for the president.
The report, along with a pending Constitutional Court judgment related to an impeachment process, is now looming over the President’s head.
To read the full report, click here…
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