Hawks confirm Ramaphosa's former security chief won't be prosecuted over Phala Phala
Millions of rands worth of game proceeds were stolen from the president's Phala Phala farm in 2020.
The national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya briefing the media to outline progress and take stock of milestones achieved during the 4th and last quarter of financial year 2023/2024 on 28 June 2024. Picture: GCIS
JOHANNESBURG - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, has confirmed that the former head of President Cyril Ramaphosa's presidential protection unit, Wally Rhoode, will not face prosecution for an alleged cover-up of the Phala Phala robbery.
Millions of rands worth of game proceeds were stolen from the president's Phala Phala farm in 2020.
The highly publicised burglary almost turned Ramaphosa's political career on its head – with calls for him to resign for allegedly breaching the ethics codes in the aftermath of the crime.
Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya gave a wrap of the agency's financial year in Pretoria on Friday, including an update on the Phala Phala case.
READ: DA won't support a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa - Zille
Former spy boss Arthur Fraser blew the whistle on the burglary and the alleged misconduct after it.
He claimed Rhoode led a team that unlawfully entered Namibia to pursue suspects believed to have stolen undeclared US dollars at Ramaphosa's game farm in Limpopo.
Fraser and Rhoode later faced a case of defeating the ends of justice.
Lebeya said the Hawks have declined to prosecute the pair.
"Obviously, the nitty-gritties will be given to the complainant when the complainant is requesting those. But generally, we will say there is not enough evidence on which the prosecution is prepared to take this matter," said Lebeya.
Libya added that cross-border investigations into the matter are still ongoing.