By Johnathan Paoli
ActionSA has obtained a long-awaited report by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) into the handling of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm theft by the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU).
Posting the report on social media on Friday, national chairperson Michael Beaumont said it found that PPU head Major General Wally Rhoode deliberately concealed the 2020 theft of millions of US dollars from the president’s Limpopo farm.
The release comes amid renewed legal and political scrutiny, with the Constitutional Court expected to rule in a related case within weeks.
“The report is nothing short of a scandal… yet Rhoode remains in his position without accountability,” Beaumont said, noting it was completed in October 2023.
Responding to questions on Friday, Ramaphosa said: “The IPID report is what you would have read, I had nothing to do with it.”
He was speaking during a visit to Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga, accompanied by Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Premier Mandla Ndlovu.
The report focuses on the conduct of PPU members after the burglary, following a protracted effort by ActionSA and others to access it under the Promotion of Access to Information Act. It was ultimately declassified by Acting Police Minister Feroz Cachalia.
Beaumont said authorities had known the findings for nearly two years without action, calling on police leadership and the president to account.
IPID found Rhoode and Constable Hlulani Rekhoto were central to an alleged cover-up and recommended disciplinary action under SAPS regulations.
The report says Rhoode failed to open a criminal case after the theft, instead reporting the matter to a subordinate rather than then national commissioner Khehla Sitole, who only learned of it through media reports after retiring.
It further found Rhoode conducted an unlawful investigation outside his mandate, using state resources to track suspects and recover money without a case docket. Suspects were questioned at the farm, with unauthorised individuals allegedly involved.
IPID also flagged Rekhoto’s travel to Cape Town under false pretences, saying he conducted surveillance rather than official meetings. Both officers were found to have falsified travel documents and misused state funds, resulting in “fruitless and wasteful expenditure”.
The report cites unnecessary travel and duplication of roles, as well as an unauthorised trip to Upington and Namibia involving presidential adviser Bejani Chauke.
It further alleges suspects were interrogated without being informed of their rights, raising concerns of unlawful apprehension, bribery and cross-border operations outside legal frameworks.
IPID concluded the conduct “detrimentally affects the image of the Service” and warrants urgent disciplinary action for multiple breaches.
Beaumont said ActionSA would escalate the matter in Parliament, writing to portfolio committees on the Presidency and Police to demand an urgent inquiry into non-compliance with the report’s recommendations.
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