<\/p>\n
Preparations are under way at the Bela Bela Magistrate\u2019s Court as the media contingent continued to flock to the Limpopo town ahead of the first court appearance of the two suspects arrested for breaking into President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s Phala Phala farm in February 2020.<\/p>\n
Millions of rand in foreign currency was stolen from the president\u2019s farm, raising many questions around the genesis of the cash, and developing a cloud over the president\u2019s head. <\/p>\n
The two suspects, aged 30 and 39, are expected to appear on Tuesday, and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks) have not ruled out further arrests in the matter. <\/p>\n
The court staff rushed around cleaning the visibly old courtroom in preparation for the one of the most high profile cases in recent years.<\/p>\n
One of the court staff members who wished to remain anonymous said the staff at the court were unaware that the high profile case would be heard there until she was called by her boss early on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you can see, we only have one court room which has a very small capacity, and is currently under renovations\u2026 we are going to be very strict in terms of those who can access the court because we can\u2019t accommodate everyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said all cleaning staff were called in to spruce up the courtroom. <\/p>\n Located in the heart of Bela Bela, the magistrate\u2019s court became the centre of attention after the Hawks announced on Monday that two people had been arrested for the Phala Phala housebreaking and that a third arrest was imminent.<\/p>\n An unknown amount, believed to be between $580,000 or in excess of $4 million, was stolen in February 2020 during a housebreaking at Ramaphosa\u2019s farm. The money was reportedly stuffed into furniture on the farm.<\/p>\n Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the pair was arrested in Rustenburg and Bela Bela, respectively, by the members of the National Serious Corruption Investigation.<\/p>\n In what has been described by opposition parties and political analysts as a \u201chogwash\u201d aimed at protecting the President after a report by the Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka determined that:<\/p>\n \u201cRamaphosa did not conduct other paid work because he was not present on the farm very often and he did not draw a salary from the farm. Neither reason serves as a rational basis to conclude that the president does not conduct other paid work.\u201d<\/p>\n Preparations are under way at the Bela Bela Magistrate\u2019s Court as the media contingent continued to flock to the Limpopo town ahead of the first court appearance of the two suspects arrested for breaking into President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s Phala Phala farm in February 2020. Millions of rand in foreign currency was stolen from the president\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[444,12726,375,536,7900,8392],"class_list":["post-201738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-ahead","tag-bela","tag-case","tag-court","tag-eyes","tag-phala"],"yoast_head":"\n