Phala Phala burglary trial set to resume with new interpreter

Johannesburg
Thabiso Goba

Thabiso Goba

8 October 2025 | 6:37

Court proceedings were cut short on Monday, with the accused saying the interpreter was not relaying the messages correctly.

Phala Phala burglary trial set to resume with new interpreter

Two of the accused in the Phala Phala burglary case Froliana Joseph (middle) and David Joseph (left) were granted bail in the Bela Bela Magistrates Court on 17 November 2023.

The Phala Phala farm theft trial is expected to resume on Tuesday with a new Oshiwambo court interpreter.

Oshiwambo is an official Namibian language and is the mother tongue of the three accused, Imanuwela David, Froliana and Ndilinasho Joseph.

Court proceedings were cut short on Monday, with the accused saying the interpreter was not relaying the messages correctly.

The three are accused of breaking into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm in February 2020 and stealing 580,000 US dollars in cash.

The three on trial are all South African citizens.

During the bail application, all three revealed they were born and raised in Bela Bela, Limpopo. 

The town has a small but active Namibian community, where the people speak Oshiwambo.

Several times during this case, the accused have raised concerns over the court interpreter.

Magistrate Peter Manthata said that it was in the interest of justice that they are able to follow the court proceedings.

"I don’t want to risk by proceeding with this matter and at the end of the day, or the whole trial, and the matter may be set aside on the basis of a very simple thing that this court could’ve had addressed."

Wednesday is the last day of the scheduled trial dates for this case.

New dates are expected to be announced.

Get the whole picture 💡

Take a look at the topic timeline for all related articles.

Trending News