Three suspects in the theft of $580 000 at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm are to remain in custody.
Ramaphosa will not make any appearance as a witness, the State confirmed, saying that he is not a complainant, but the manager of the farm would attend court.
Imanuwela David, Froliana Joseph and Ndilinasho David Joseph appeared in the Bela-Bela Magistrate's Court in Limpopo today.
Ndilinasho was arrested by the Serious Corruption Investigation based at the national head office of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation on Thursday, when he handed himself in at the Bela-Bela police station.
He is a brother to accused number 1, Froliana Joseph.
This was Froliana and Imanuwela’s second appearance. They were seeking bail after first appeared in court on Monday.
The trio are facing charges of house breaking and theft, with an additional charge of money laundering for Imanuwela.
The court heard that Froliana was one of Ramaphosa’s housekeepers in 2020. It is alleged that she spotted stacks of money hidden in furniture. It is further alleged that she divulged this information to the other suspects, who wasted no time and acted.
Applying for bail, her lawyer, Ramoloko Michael Mokgobu, who is also representing her brother, told the court that her clients should be granted bail as they posed no threat to society.
“Froliana is a mother of a minor child whom she is breastfeeding. The child has a chronic condition that requires attention at all material times. Should her bail application be prolonged, it will be extremely difficult for the child to cope,” said Mokgobu.
She maintains that she is innocent, she believes that the State’s case is weak,
He also told the court to grant Ndilinasho bail as he too is not a risk. He demonstrated that by handing himself in.
Their case was postponed to November 17 for judgment of the bail application.
“The postponement has a serious bearing on the mother, more importantly the child who has a condition. She needs the mother,” said Mokgobu.
Imanuwela will return on the same date with his legal representation.
“The State is not opposing bail because the applicants were co-operating with the investigating officer from the start, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.
“The mother of the one-year-old child told the court that she has a chronic condition, so it works in her favour, and the brother handed himself to the police,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.
The Star