Imanuwela David told the Modimolle Regional Court on Friday that he could raise R500,000 for a fine if granted leniency for his role in the Phala game farm theft.
David and former farm worker Froliana Joseph were convicted for their roles in the February 2020 break-in at the Bela-Bela property belonging to Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, where more than $580,000 in US currency was stolen from a sofa.
During pre-sentencing proceedings on Friday, November 13, David spoke through his legal counsel, advocate Koena Matlala, about facing his upcoming sentence while maintaining he had nothing to do with the actual burglary.
Testifying on the witness stand in Limpopo, the convicted thief asserted that he knows nothing about the break-in and theft at the property, stating he has always maintained he has no idea concerning those issues and does not want to comment further to avoid looking like he is defending himself.
“I am very afraid, but emotionally, I am very happy. Mentally and physically, I am also affected. However, I have come to accept whatever the court’s decision will be, and let it be the way it is,” David said in court, noting that he has accepted that the magistrate will make the final decision.
David added that his incarceration has impacted his family significantly, especially his mother, siblings, and children, because he was the sole breadwinner. He explained that since his arrest, people who depended on him have been left stranded, though he expressed hope that the court would show leniency in giving him a lesser sentence as a dedicated caregiver, mentioning that he was unemployed when arrested.
Court Weighs Financial Evidence
Regional Magistrate Peter Manthata rejected David’s explanations regarding his sudden accumulation of wealth following the break-in. State financial records showed that more than R9.5m moved through David’s bank accounts between February 3, 2020, and May 31, 2022. The court examined how David travelled from Cape Town before the burglary, arrived near Phala, and subsequently accumulated substantial wealth.
Manthata rejected David’s explanation that vehicles were purchased on behalf of a businessman named John Pedro who allegedly traded between Angola and Namibia, noting that none of the vehicles had been exported and that the supposed businessman may have been fictitious.
The magistrate also addressed the origin of the stolen cash itself, accepting testimony from former acting farm manager Sylvester Ndlovu that Mustafa Hazim had previously arrived at Phala and purchased 20 buffaloes for US$580,000 in cash on December 25, 2019. According to the evidence presented, the former manager kept the money in a safe before later moving it to a sofa in the house because too many people had access to the safe.
The Modimolle Regional Court endorsed as fact the claim that the stolen dollars came from this buffalo transaction, with Magistrate Manthata formally stating that 20 buffaloes were bought for US$580,000 on Christmas Day in 2019 and that the house was broken into on February 9, 2020, when the money was stolen.
Manthata found that cellphone records linked Joseph and David through communications both before and after the break-in, while questioning why the case had only been opened two years after the theft in a manner that indicated poorly done investigations.
Sentencing Postponed in Limpopo
Joseph had been out on bail prior to her conviction earlier in the month.
Sentencing proceedings were subsequently postponed to November 26, awaiting the supervision report from the correctional officer regarding Joseph to assist in the mitigation of sentence.
“So now I’m here in prison and people who were depending on me, they are stranded,” David told the court regarding the impact of his incarceration on his family.