Phala Phala judgment: Two convicted, third accused acquitted

The Modimolle Regional Court delivered the Phala Phala judgment on Monday, 2 November, more than six years after a break-in at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo game farm.

On Monday, 2 November, the Modimolle Regional Court convicted two of the three accused. The third walked free.

Magistrate Peter Manthata found Imanuwela David and Froliana Joseph guilty.

Meanwhile, Joseph’s brother, Ndilinasho Joseph, was acquitted on all charges.

The trio stood accused of stealing $580 000 (R9.6 million) from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm near Bela-Bela in February 2020.

What the court found

Manthata convicted David of conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal, housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, and money laundering.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) alleged he was the mastermind.

Froliana, a former temporary worker at Phala Phala, was convicted of conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal.

Manthata found that she and David communicated by cellphone before and after the break-in.

He also rejected a defence argument that the State’s cellphone analyst was not qualified to give that evidence.

The court found that Froliana’s duties on the farm gave her access to the house.

The State says she tipped David off about the cash, which was hidden under a couch.

Why Ndilinasho Joseph walked free

Manthata said Ndilinasho had never worked at Phala Phala.

He found no evidence that Ndilinasho knew what was happening there.

The magistrate also found nothing in the siblings’ possession.

Their bank accounts showed no sign that they had benefited from the theft.

Attorney Mike Mokgobo, who represents the siblings, welcomed the outcome.

“We have managed to achieve the acquittal of accused three,” he said, adding that Froliana had been acquitted on two of the three counts she faced.

All three were found not guilty of a separate break-in at Stokkiesdraai, a neighbouring farm.

Gaps in the Phala Phala theft case

Manthata pointed to weaknesses in the investigation.

There were no fingerprints and no usable video footage showing who broke into the president’s house.

The State called more than 20 witnesses during the trial, which began in September 2025.

The court declared at least four of them hostile after their evidence departed from their police statements.

The court also heard that David allegedly used part of the money to buy his girlfriend a car and an apartment.

He later took the car back after the relationship ended.

David had denied stealing the money, claiming it came from a friend in Namibia.

What happens next after the Phala Phala judgment

Manthata postponed the case to 13 November for pre-sentencing proceedings.

David has been in custody since being denied bail in 2023.

Bela-Bela sits roughly 100km north of Pretoria.

Most people know the quiet bushveld town for its hot springs, not for courtroom drama.

Yet this case drew national attention because of who owns the farm.

The theft only became public in June 2022, when former spy boss Arthur Fraser laid a criminal complaint against Ramaphosa. Monday’s convictions relate only to the theft.

They are separate from the political and parliamentary fallout over Phala Phala.

DO YOU THINK THE FULL STORY OF PHALA PHALA WILL EVER BE TOLD?