Three people charged in the “Farmgate” Ramaphosa break-in show up in South African court

Three people were charged in a South African court on Monday with stealing millions of rands from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s game farm in 2020. This is part of a scam that almost brought down the president two years ago.

Imanuwela David, Ndilinasho Joseph, and Froliana Joseph are being charged with theft and getting into a house.

The three people went to a regional court in Limpopo province, where the case was put off until November 26. The brothers Joseph, who were arrested in November of last year, were given more time to post bail, but David was told to stay in jail.

Arthur Fraser, South Africa’s former spy chief, told police about the scandal in June 2022. He called it “Farmgate” and said that Ramaphosa was moving money, being corrupt, and hiding a big theft of foreign currency.

Before he became president, Ramaphosa was a rich and well-connected businessman. He has denied doing anything wrong. The anti-corruption body cleared him of a possible conflict of interest in June 2023 when it came to the money that was found hidden in a sofa on his Phala Phala game farm.

Because of the affair, he almost lost his position as leader of the African National Congress (ANC), which was needed to run for president this year on the party’s ticket. However, other ANC members challenged him and he won.