RAMAPHOSA ‘READY’ TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF IN FARM ROBBERY CASE

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is ready to give an explanation and be held accountable over allegations that he concealed a multi-million-dollar cash heist at his luxury farmhouse, but only after investigations have been concluded.

Responding to questions in parliament on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said he was cooperating with authorities but refused to provide details of the burglary, which has led to charges of money laundering and corruption.

Adding that he had been advised to wait until investigators had completed their work.

According to a complaint filed by former South African intelligence chief Arthur Fraser, in February 2020,  burglars broke into a farm owned by the president in Phala Phala, in the north-east of the country, where they found the equivalent of almost four million euros in cash.

The ombudsman’s office and the police launched an investigation in June after Ramaphosa, was accused of buying the silence of burglars who stumbled on large sums of money at one of his properties.