NPA decides not to pursue Phala Phala’s complaint against Ramaphosa

Limpopo Director of Public Prosecutions Ivy Thenga has made the decision not to prosecute anyone in the Phala Phala case.

The National Prosecuting Authority said on Thursday Thenga’s decision followed a thorough investigation by the Hawks after a complaint was made by former intelligence chief Arthur Fraser over the theft of at least 580,000 $(R10.7 million) in undeclared foreign currency at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s private game farm. in 2020.

Fraser called on police to investigate the conduct of the president and that of the former head of presidential protection, Major General Wally Rhoode, alleging that the incident amounted to money laundering and corruption.

The NPA said investigations were also looking into any possible breaches of the Income Tax Act and exchange control regulations following the break-in and theft.

“The decision not to pursue charges was made by (Thenga) after careful evaluation of all available evidence presented to prosecutors by the (Hawks). It concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of successful prosecution based on the evidence in the file,” said NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga.

He said Thenga made his decision in line with the NPA’s prosecution policy, which states that a prosecutor, before deciding whether to initiate criminal proceedings against an accused, must assess whether there is sufficient evidence and admissible to provide a reasonable prospect of successful prosecution. .

Mhaga said various factors must be considered when the prosecutor evaluates the evidence, including the strength of the case in favor of the State, the availability of evidence, the likelihood that the prosecution witnesses are credible, admissibility and reliability of evidence, and strength of evidence. case for the defense.

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