March 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The South African Ombudsman, Kholeka Gcaleka, has cleared the country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, of any ethical responsibility in the case of the theft of cash from his game farm, a controversy that has dogged the president for months.
In June last year, the former head of the State security agency Arthur Fraser filed charges against Ramaphosa on the grounds that the case had not been thoroughly investigated and that the former president could be an accomplice to the robbery, which took place in 2020 at his farm. of Limpopo, in a strategy to launder the money allegedly stolen.
Fraser also accused the president of trying to cover up the crime with the help of members of the presidential protection unit, which at the time was led by Major General Wally Rhoode. Ramaphosa insisted on his innocence and stressed that all the money came from the sale of animals.
The investigation of the case estimates that the stolen money amounts to approximately 600,000 euros, although Fraser denounced that the amount actually amounted to 3.7 million euros.
Gcaleka assures in his preliminary report, collected by the Eyewitness News news portal, that his office has not found any basis to conclude that Ramaphosa violated the Executive Ethics code, but he has qualified that his powers go as far as that and he has no jurisdiction to investigate. a private transaction between two persons or entities.
The Ombudsman’s office has been investigating this highly politicized case since last year, which has also cost the predecessor of the current occupant, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, her job.
