The accused in the Phala Phala trial pleaded not guilty to charges.
Alleged Phala Phala farm burglary mastermind Imanuwela David and his two co-accused pleaded not guilty as the first witness detailed how the stolen cash was concealed in a couch.
The trial got underway at the Modimolle Regional Court in Limpopo on Monday.
Froliana Joseph – a former cleaner at the Phala Phala game farm – and her brother, David Joseph, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal, as well as theft and housebreaking.
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The alleged mastermind also faces a money-laundering charge, to which he entered a not-guilty plea.
The trio were arrested in connection with the burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in February 2020, where $580 000 in cash was stolen.
The money was a payment from Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa for buffaloes bred at Phala Phala.
David remains in custody after being denied bail, while the Joseph siblings are out on R5 000 bail each.
The trial is expected to run for three weeks on different dates, with the state intending to call just over 20 witnesses.
Phala Phala farm trial: witness identities concealed
During proceedings, state prosecutor Nkhetheni Munyai applied for the identities of the witnesses to be concealed because they had a “fear of reprisal” due to the high-profile nature of the case.
He told the court that “if the identities of witnesses are revealed, it may increase the likelihood of future witnesses adjusting their evidence to match that of those who testified before them”.
The prosecutor also argued against the defence’s submission that the witnesses should be shown because the three accused’s identities were already public.
“These are from two different vantage points, the accused are on trial which is in the public interest, but the witnesses are not,” Munyai said, adding that the witnesses’ evidence could be broadcast without revealing their identities.
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However, David’s legal representative, advocate Koena Matala, insisted that the situations were similar, saying his client’s image and family were at risk.
Matlala also argued that the witnesses’ names were known to the media and that the state’s application “did not carry weight”.
“There is no risk or prejudice that any of the witnesses are going to suffer,” he said. The Joseph siblings’ lawyer expressed similar views.
Watch the trial below:
The court ultimately ruled that the identity of the witnesses should not be revealed as the defence had not objected in previous proceedings.
“It was very clear from the beginning that there was no objection whatsoever from the defence or the accused,” the magistrate said.
The state then proceeded to read out the charge sheet as the three accused again pleaded not guilty.
Munyai said the state will present evidence that David allegedly lived an extravagant lifestyle, with a financial analysis showing a sharp rise in his income.
The court also heard that the state plans to show cellphone records of David’s contact with the Joseph siblings as well as with two people not on trial.
First witness takes the stand
After a brief adjournment, the former lodge manager at Phala Phala became the first witness to testify, sharing details of how Mustafa came to the game farm on 25 December 2019.
The former employee testified that he found it odd that the purchase for the 20 buffaloes was done via cash amounting to R8 million at the farm, as transactions were usually done through a bank.
“I then explained to him that I’m going to give him an invoice,” he said, adding that a receipt of acknowledgement of payment was also given to Mustafa.
He confirmed that he was the person who moved the cash from the safe to the couch.
“I was afraid to leave that money inside the safe because everyone has access to that room where the safe was because we kept documents, the keys for the rooms of the farm and also documents for the animals that are being bred there at the farm.
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“I was afraid to leave it there because if it ended up not being there, I will be in trouble.
“I then took the money to the house of Mr Ramaphosa in thinking that the money will be safe because it is the house of the president and the whole house has cameras,” he said.
The former lodge manager said there was a spare room used as a bedroom by one of Ramaphosa’s children, but it was not used regularly.
“It is only used maybe once or twice in a year when there is a family function or gathering and they come to the farm.
“It is the room that I thought would be the safest and inside that room there was a sofa.
“After putting the money under the sofa, I removed the cushions that were on top of the sofa, took out the money inside the bags and placed that money on that sofa.”
