Two suspects who were arrested in connection with the robbery and housebreaking at President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm will make their first court appearance at the Bela Bela Magistrates Court this morning. A reported $580 000 (R10 million) was stolen at the farm in February 2020. The money was reportedly hidden in a couch and the presidency claimed it was proceeds the president made from selling Ankola cows to Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa, who paid the money in cash.

Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale confirmed that two suspects aged 30 and 39, who were arrested on Sunday and Monday respectively will be appearing in court on charges of housebreaking and theft. "The pair were arrested in Rustenburg and Bela Bela by the members of the National Serious Corruption Investigation in relation to the Phala Phala farm break-in. The arrest of a third suspect is imminent," said Mogale.

Following the incident, it was discovered that one of the farm workers who worked inside the house worked with the robbers but the president failed to disclose this to the authorities. Former spy boss Arthur Fraser opened criminal charges against the president in June 2022 at Rosebank SAPS for the theft. Fraser said Ramaphosa desisted from informing authorities about this. Political parties called for Ramaphosa to step down but at the time, in a statement, the presidency denied any foul play from Ramaphosa, claiming that he reported the incident to the authorities. "On being advised of the robbery, President Ramaphosa reported the incident to the head of the Presidential Protection Unit of the police service for investigation. President Ramaphosa stands ready to co-operate with any law-enforcement investigation on these matters," said the presidency.

In June, the newly appointed Public Protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka cleared Ramaphosa from any wrongdoing in the matter. Gcaleka said she found there was no conflict of interest, no abuse of power and that the president received no remuneration from the farm. Meanwhile, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) also cleared the president initiating the investigation. "On the facts available to it, the SARB finds that there was no perfected transaction and thus the SARB cannot conclude that there was any contravention of the Exchange Control Regulations by Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC (the entity involved) or for that matter by the president. "That is because the SARB has concluded that the transaction in question was subject to conditions precedent which were not fulfilled, and therefore there was no legal entitlement, within the meaning of Regulation (6)(1), on the part of Ntaba Nyoni Estates CC, to the foreign currency. It is pertinent to recognise that the scope and purpose of the investigation and report in this matter are limited to whether there were exchange control violations, in terms of the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961, in respect of the foreign currency allegedly stolen from the Phala Phala farm on 9 February 2020," the Reserve Bank said in a statement in August.