Mashudu Sadike & Ntombi Nkosi
Pretoria – Former South Africa State Security Agency (SSA) boss Arthur Fraser has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of lying about the origin of the stolen US dollars at his Phala Phala farm.
Fraser said Ramaphosa’s business records would have to prove his assertions that the money came from his game farm proceeds in the form of an auction.
Ramaphosa, in his defence during the closing of the ANC Limpopo elective conference in June, said the stolen money came from the proceeds of his game farming. He said he was a game farmer.
Fraser in May opened a case against Ramaphosa, accusing him of concealing a crime at his Phala Phala farm where about $4 million dollars (R73.4m) were stolen.
Fraser has since challenged Ramaphosa’s statement that the money came from business proceeds.
A letter detailing a meeting between Fraser’s legal advisers and the Hawks, written in June and believed to be written by the former spy boss, asserts that Ramaphosa had lied about the money.
In the same letter submitted to the National Assembly by various parties, including the EFF and the UDM, Ramaphosa’s closest ally and adviser Bejani Chauke is accused of having been responsible for transporting the money into the country from overseas.
It reads in part: “This money from the president’s Phala Phala farm on February 9, 2020 was not money derived from the sale of animals and/or the hunting of game as articulated by the president on June 5, 2022 in his address after the ANC Limpopo conference.”
The letter further reads: “Business records of the president’s sale on animals and hunting that took place on Phala Phala and on other farms through which the president conducts business must be obtained for the period of March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020 detailing all transcripts and all invoices, receipts and communication, including email in relation to sales and purchases.
“Both business records and personal banking records of the president for the period of March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020 must be obtained, detailing all credits and debits.”
Independent Media contacted Chauke on his cellphone, but it rang and went unanswered. SMS and WhatsApp messages were sent to him, but there was no reply.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, was also contacted but failed to reply. – Independent Media
