Namibia’s presidential robbers

Five Namibians accused of stealing millions in 2020 at the 4 500-hectare farm known as Phala Phala Wildlife, which is owned by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, have thrown him into a legal and political quagmire.

Along with Ramaphosa’s housekeeper, the five men have been named as the kingpins behind the Phala Phala heist involving loot ranging between N$60 million and N$120 million, the explosive affidavit of former spy boss Arthur Fraser has revealed.

Fraser narrated how Ramaphosa went to great lengths to conceal the situation, even paying the robbers close to N$1 million not to reveal any details about the robbery at his game farm.

The South African presidency confirmed the robbery through which “proceeds from the sale of game were stolen”.

The admission has, however, raised more suspicions on why Ramaphosa kept large sums of cash, in foreign currency, stashed in his farmhouse.

With Phala Phala being one of the six members of the Stud Game Breeders Group, which does not permit cash transactions at its auction, critics have questioned the source of the funds which Ramaphosa claimed came from sale of game.

There are also talks that Fraser’s move is a politically-motivated plot aimed at discrediting the South African president in the months leading to the African National Congress’ elective conference. Fraser is largely seen as a Jacob Zuma ally.

Stashed in the furniture

It all started when Ramaphosa’s domestic worker at the farm laid her eyes on cash - hidden in the house’s furniture.

According to Fraser’s 48-page affidavit, the housekeeper, who hails from an informal settlement called Cyferskyl near Ramaphosa’s farm, conspired with members of the settlement and roped in Urrbanus Shaumbwako, Petrus Muhekeni, Erkki Shikongo, Imanuwela David and Petrus Afrikaner to break into Ramaphosa’s residence to steal the money. The five lived in Cape Town at the time.

The break-in was, however, captured on both external and internal security cameras.

“The alleged perpetrators subsequently ransacked the president’s residence at Phala Phala by removing the undisclosed amount of US dollars that was concealed in the furniture in the residence,” Fraser narrated, adding that they returned to Cape Town immediately after the robbery.

He added: “Although there was not any certainty as to the precise amount of US dollars stolen from the president’s residence, the quantum was speculated to be in the region of approximately US$4 million to US$8 million.”

The domestic worker, Fraser said, was subsequently dismissed, but was later reinstated after discussions between “Ramapahosa and the domestic worker’s father”.

The group exchanged the stolen loot for South African rands at an informal foreign exchange service run by Chinese nationals, Fraser said.

The loot was used to buy luxury items such as cars and deposited into their bank accounts.

When David subsequently fled to Namibia, he was chased down by South African intelligence officers after “president Ramaphosa sought the assistance of the president of Namibia, President Hage Geingob, in apprehending the suspect”.

David was interviewed and the stolen monies were seized.

The Namibian presidency was not available for comment yesterday.

Pulling strings

“Major General [Wally] Rhoode travelled to Namibia utilising official government resources and had not been legally processed through border control to have left the country, nor that he returned to the country,” Fraser said.

The circumstances around David’s arrest raised eyebrows in Namibia, with claims that senior officials in the Namibian Police were pulling strings behind the scenes to ensure that the matter is concealed.

Namibian Sun is told that several police officers who were seen as ‘problematic’ and ‘asking too many questions’ during the case were even transferred to other regions.

Police chief Sebastian Ndeitunga, when approached for comment yesterday, said “please do not drag me into South African issues” before ending the call.

There seemed to be concerted efforts to hide the robbery from the public.

Two police sources who spoke to this publication said they were surprised that there was no extradition request from their South African counterpart, especially considering that Ramaphosa was involved in the matter.

Rhoode and his team, on Ramaphosa’s instruction, paid the five suspects N$150 000 in cash each to conceal the events, Fraser revealed.

Criminal complaint

Separated by the Orange River, Namibia and South Africa’s ties run deeper than the political and economic ties that have linked the two former apartheid colonies.

The past few days have revealed how security apparatuses in the two countries went to great lengths to keep the heist under the wraps. This while Fraser laid a criminal complaint against Ramaphosa over the robbery, claiming that US$4 million was stolen from the farm. The South African presidency confirmed the theft, adding that: “President Ramaphosa is clear that there is no basis for the claims of criminal conduct that have been made against him in Mr Fraser’s statement”.

Fraser now wants Ramaphosa to be investigated for money laundering, depriving suspects of their freedom of movement and obstructing the course of justice, amongst other things.