Two of three accused—Imanuwela David and Froliana (also spelled Floriana) Joseph—were convicted on 2 November 2026 in the Modimolle Regional Court in Limpopo in connection with the February 2020 theft of US$580,000 from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm; the third accused, Ndilinasho Joseph, was acquitted on all charges.
Magistrate Peter Manthata delivered the judgment. David (described as the alleged mastermind) was found guilty of conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal, housebreaking with intent to steal, theft at the farm, and money laundering. Froliana Joseph (a former temporary domestic worker/cleaner at the farm) was convicted of conspiracy to commit housebreaking with intent to steal. Ndilinasho Joseph (her brother) was acquitted. All three were found not guilty on a related charge involving a neighbouring farm (Stokkiedraai/Stokkiesdraai).
The three accused are South Africans of Namibian origin (often referred to as Namibian nationals). They were arrested in November 2023; the trial began in 2025. The cash—reportedly payment for buffaloes sold to a Sudanese businessman and hidden under a couch in the farmhouse—was stolen in a break-in in February 2020. The state relied primarily on circumstantial evidence, including cellphone records and communications between David and Froliana Joseph before and after the incident, David’s proximity to the farm, and evidence of subsequent spending (luxury vehicles such as Mercedes-Benz G63s, a Porsche, a BMW M5, a Rolex, jewellery, and property). The court rejected David’s claims about the source of the funds.
Manthata noted the absence of direct evidence such as fingerprints or usable video footage and criticised the investigation as poorly conducted. The case was postponed to 13 November 2026 for pre-sentencing proceedings.
This criminal trial is separate from the broader political and legal controversy (often called the Phala Phala or “Farmgate” scandal) that emerged publicly in 2022 after former intelligence chief Arthur Fraser laid complaints alleging a cover-up of the theft. Ramaphosa has maintained the money was legitimate proceeds from the buffalo sale.
