President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday reiterated his stance that he was not involved in any criminal conduct, and he pledged to assist police with investigations into the multimillion-dollar robbery from his Limpopo farm two years ago.
Ramaphosa said while he understood the public interest in the case, he was really “focusing on rebuilding the economy and the country.”
According to former spy chief Arthur Fraser, over US$4 million was stolen from Ramaphosa’s farm in 2020.
The incident was hidden from the police and the South African Revenue Services, Fraser alleged.
The former State Security Agency director general reported the matter to the police only last week. The latter confirmed receiving the complaint last Wednesday which they said would act on it.
Ramaphosa, however, insisted at the end of the governing African National Congress’ Limpopo provincial conference in Polokwane on Sunday that he did not steal taxpayers’ money.
The stolen funds were the proceeds from a purely “business transaction” involving game sales at his Phala Phala farm, he said.
“This, what’s being reported, was a clear business transaction of selling animals and the amount involved is far less than what is being bandied in the press,” Ramaphosa said.
He attributed the allegations to a political plot to derail his fight against corruption.
“I will continue to fight corruption and some of these things clearly have their own political agenda and we are all aware of that, but it will not deter me from fighting corruption because I have never stolen taxpayers’ money,” Ramaphosa said.
NM/jn/APA