STOLEN STASH: Phala Phala: Two convicted despite ‘poor’ probe into $580,000 theft

More than six years after $580,000 hidden inside a couch was stolen from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm, the man accused of masterminding the burglary and the former cleaner who allegedly discovered the cash have been found guilty.

On Monday, 2 November 2026, the Modimolle Magistrates’ Court found Imanuwela David and Floriana Joseph guilty of conspiracy to commit housebreaking and theft. Floriana’s brother, Ndilinasho Joseph, was acquitted of all charges.

At the heart of the case was the cash, now worth more than R9-million, which had been hidden inside a couch at the Limpopo farm. The State’s case was that Floriana discovered the money while working as a cleaner at Phala Phala and alerted her brother. David, who knew both of them, was accused of masterminding the burglary that followed.

During the trial, the State led evidence showing that David travelled twice to the vicinity of Phala Phala before the February 2020 break-in. It also relied on evidence of his financial circumstances around the time of the theft.

From public transport to millions in spending

The court heard that David spent more than R5-million on a fleet of luxury vehicles, including one he allegedly bought for the mother of his child.

Evidence also showed that he spent R250,000 on custom-made dental grills, R70,000 to add diamonds to his Rolex watch and R1-million on a property in Rustenburg, North West.

In handing down judgment, Magistrate Peter Manthata focused on the source of David’s money, including the US dollars he used to buy vehicles.

“After considering the totality of the evidence, I find that the accused was the one who purchased the VW Golf 7 car, and the other cars, and I find that he used US dollars to purchase the cars. The question, to be answered or determined now, is the [origin] of the US dollars that the accused used to purchase the cars.

“Other than purchasing in this particular class with US dollars, it is common cause that there were millions of rands deposited into the accused’s banking account; he was confronted about the period in which he acquired the money, which was during Covid-19 when economic activities were affected, and he conceded that indeed the money was acquired during this period, but said importing and exporting of goods were not affected. I disagree with him on this issue”

Manthata also pointed to David’s use of public transport before the burglary and his spending afterwards.

“So interesting is that he used public transport from Cape Town to Bela-Bela before the incident at Phala-Phala. And after this incident, he had accumulated more money; he had money to buy cars, even bought his girlfriend a Mercedes-Benz worth R500,000, rent, grilled his teeth, with payment of R250,000 or so and purchasing immovable properties.”

David’s explanation for his wealth

David disputed the State’s case about the source of his money. His lawyer, Koena Matlala, told the court that David had begun receiving large sums of money before the Phala Phala break-in and pointed to several business interests, including the importing and exporting of cars.

The defence also said some of the money came through David’s uncle’s construction company, where David said he “helped” with business.

In support of his case, Matlala submitted an invoice which the defence said showed that, three months before the burglary, more than R1-million had been paid into David’s account for an excavation truck, with further payments due in instalments.

Six years of Phala Phala fallout

The trial began in September 2025 after lengthy delays following the February 2020 break-in. In the years since the theft, Phala Phala has grown from a criminal investigation into a wider legal and political matter involving Ramaphosa.

In 2022, an independent panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that Ramaphosa may have a case to answer over the saga. The National Assembly voted against referring the panel’s report to an impeachment committee in December that year.

That decision was overturned by the Constitutional Court in May 2026, when it ordered that the report be referred to an impeachment committee. Parliament subsequently established the Section 89 committee, chaired by Makashule Gana, to consider whether Ramaphosa committed conduct that could constitute grounds for his removal from office.

In June this year, Ramaphosa approached the Western Cape high court in an urgent bid to stop the impeachment process while he challenged the Ngcobo panel report in a separate review application. He argued that allowing the process to continue before the review was decided would cause him “irreparable harm”, including damage to his reputation from allegations aired during public hearings.

In July, the high court granted an interim interdict preventing the committee from proceeding with public hearings until Ramaphosa’s review application had been decided.

Before this, in April 2026, a damning report by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) also found that the theft had been mishandled by members of the Presidential Protection Service.

Ipid recommended disciplinary action against Major General Wally Rhoode, the head of the Presidential Protection Service, and Constable Hlulani Rekhoto after finding “information of evidential value” that both had breached police rules and legal obligations.

Manthata also criticised the investigation into the burglary, saying there were no fingerprints or usable video footage showing who had broken into the President’s house.

“This is a clear indication that the investigations of this case were poorly done,” Manthata said.

“It is in my view not understandable, as we are not talking about an ordinary house, but the house of the country’s first citizen, the President.”

Manthata said it was therefore not surprising that the criminal case had been opened only two years after the theft.

The case was postponed to Friday, 13 November 2026 for pre-sentence proceedings for David and Floriana Joseph.

DM