The two suspects Imanuwela David [39] and Froliana Joseph[30] arrested for the theft at Phala Phala farm made their first court appearances on Tuesday.

The two appeared before the Bela Bela Magistrates Court, Limpopo on Tuesday.

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The two suspects are from Namibia, one is a male, while the other one is a female. The female was at the time an employee at the Phalaphala Farm owned by President Cyril Ramaphosa. It is alleged that they stole over 580,000 USD.

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The case was remanded to Friday, 10 November for the accused to seek legal representation. The advocate dealing with the case is Senior State Advocate Nkhetheni Munyai while the presiding officer is Predeshni Poonan.

The two suspects appeared here at the Bela Bela Magistrate court. This relates to the theft of 580,000 USD at the president’s farm,” said NPA Limpopo Spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi. 

“The two suspects are facing counts of conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, Housebreaking with intent to steal, and money laundering.

“In the first incident, the suspects went to the wrong farm, broke in, and entered but couldn’t steal anything. The following day they located the Phala Phala Farm and that’s where they got the money of 580,000 USD,” she said.

Froliana Joseph was an employee at the farm and was the one who invited the other accused. The court has also allowed Froliana to breastfeed her young newborn child at least three times a day.

Malabi- Dzhangi did not rule out the prospect of making more arrests before the two return to court on Friday. 

“At this stage, we can’t divulge that information, the investigations are still ongoing. Maybe on Friday, we might have something. We are working on that but we can’t divulge how many.”