Two Phala Phala suspects arrested

Two people accused of stealing about U$4 million from South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in February 2020 were arrested in South Africa on Sunday and yesterday.

According to a report by the Hawks yesterday, the suspects are aged 39 and 30, respectively.

According to the report, they are charged with theft and housebreaking.

“The pair was arrested in Rustenburg and Bela Bela, respectively, by members of the National Serious Corruption Investigative Unit in relation to the Phala Phala farm break-in in February 2020. The arrest of a third suspect is imminent,” the Hawks said in the report.

The media reported last year that those who stole the money are Namibian nationals Imanuwela David, Erkki Shikongo, Urbanus Shaumbwako, Petrus Muhekeni and Petrus Afrikaner.

The five were allegedly guided to the cash hidden in furniture in the farmhouse by Froliana Joseph, who was employed at the farm.

Joseph is believed to be David’s relative.

The Namibian is informed that a Namibian woman and a man have been arrested, however, Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbabo was not able to confirm the nationality of the suspects until they appear in court today.

Immediately after the robbery, some of the accused persons reportedly used the money to buy luxury cars and property in South Africa.

David reportedly renovated his grandmother’s homestead at Olukekete in the Omusati region, while Shikongo bought a guest house at Outapi.

South African police reportedly traced the suspects to Namibia, with Ramaphosa allegedly asking Geingob to assist him with the arrest of David, in mid 2020.

Ramaphosa’s investigators, headed by his head of security Wally Rhoode, reportedly told a senior Namibian police official to keep the robbery a secret “due to the sensitivity of the matter and the envisaged fall-out that it will create in South Africa and that the matter be handled with discretion”.

Shikongo is currently in Namibia, where he celebrated his 44th birthday on Saturday.

In August this year, Shikongo confirmed to a journalist from The Namibian while on the bus from Cape Town to Windhoek that he was involved in the robbery.

He also confirmed that he was incarcerated from 2009 to 2016 for a cash in transit robbery.

Shikongo compared prison life to a school.

“I was imprisoned for seven years. I was involved in a cash in transit robbery. Subsequent to my release, I bought a new VW Golf 5 before we stole the president’s money. I got used to these things (robbery),” Shikongo said.

He said in his life he has worked at two construction sites in Windhoek and Hout Bay in Cape Town.

“From there, I never looked for a job until we stole the president’s money. I am very dangerous,” he said.

He added that due to his involvement in the Phala Phala robbery, his passport has been flagged and whenever he leaves South Africa to Namibia, police officers at the borders make calls to confirm whether it is safe to allow him to proceed to Namibia or not.

Since the Phala Phala case shot into the limelight last year, Shikongo was listed as a wanted person on the immigration system.

“When they scan my passport, it shows a red screen on their system… they did not remove it. They monitor my movements. When I leave South Africa, the police at the borders report that I left the country,” he said.

“I have become a well-known person at the border. Last year, I was arrested at the Nakop border post in southern Namibia. I spent a night in police custody.”

Shikongo said he fears flying from South Africa to Namibia because he believes that he will be arrested in connection with the robbery.

He also told the journalist that thuggery is the only way out and that he cannot see himself working for N$5 000 a month or having a truck driving licence and be asked for three years working experience.