How South Africa President hid Sh469 million ‘under the mattress’
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa is on the spot after media reports in his country indicated he lost Sh468 million in his home in 2020.
Vincent Magwenya, the Head of State’s spokesperson, confirmed there had indeed been a robbery at the president’s farm.
Magwenya added that there was “no basis for the claims of criminal conduct” made against Ramaphosa by former spy boss and prisons commissioner Arthur Fraser.
The Presidency has also more or less confirmed the theft in a statement on Twitter.
The President reaffirms that he was not involved in any criminal conduct, and once again pledges his full cooperation with any police investigation. He confirms that following the incident in February 2020, security has been improved around his homes.
— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) June 4, 2022
The statement comes days after Fraser instituted criminal proceedings against the President.
Fraser has accused Rampahosa of breaching the Prevention of Organised Crime Act by not reporting a robbery at his Limpopo farm in 2020.
Fraser further claimed the robbers were subsequently kidnapped, interrogated, and paid to keep silent.
He said he had filed supporting evidence, including photographs, bank accounts, video footage, and names, with the Rosebank police station.
Nonetheless, on Friday John Steenhuisen, the DA leader, called on the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to investigate allegations of a robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm.
“It is therefore critical for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to probe this matter, to both determine if this amount was declared to SARS and if the transaction had tax implications, in terms of both the Income Tax Act and Tax Administration Act,” he added.
He further noted that it was essential for the protection of the rule of law, and for tax morality, that taxpayers see that the law and regulations were applied equally to all citizens, and that there was no special treatment for those in power.
Ramaphosa was recently in Nairobi for the burial of former Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki and didn’t appear stressed other than the mourning stature, perhaps having recovered from losing the money.
The 70-year old has ruled South Africa since 2018.