In this comprehensive but not exhaustive timeline, we take a look at some of the key dates during the Phala Phala saga that have thrown President Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency into jeopardy.
23 December 2019: Hazim Mustafa, a Sudanese businessman based in Dubai, arrives at OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, declaring $600 000 in cash at customs.
He said he first intended to buy a house but then turned his sights on buffalo breeding. This led him to the “largest and best” game farm – Phala Phala.
The South African Revenue Service later says it “is not in possession of said [declaration] record”.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) also instituted an investigation and found there was “no perfected transaction” – meaning, there were no exchange control laws that were breached by the president or his farm because the transaction was not completed.
25 December 2019: Mustafa visits Phala Phala farm, paying $580 000 in cash to purchase 20 buffaloes. Lodge manager Sylvester Ndlovu issues a receipt and accepts payment. The cash is stored in a safe.
READ | Who is Sundanese businessman Hazim Mustafa?
26 December 2019: Ramaphosa visits Phala Phala and speaks to Ndlovu. He says that he told the lodge manager to keep the money on the farm until farm manager Hendrik von Wielligh returns from leave to process the transaction.
27 December 2019: Ramaphosa leaves Phala Phala for Cape Town.
30 December 2019: Ndlovu goes on leave and decides to hide the cash below the cushions of a sofa within Ramaphosa’s private residence, in a spare room, because – as the president says – the lodge manager thought it was “the safest place”.
9 February 2020: A housebreaking occurs at Phala Phala after 22:00. Burglars also steal the foreign currency from the sofa, which had been there for more than 40 days. The amount of cash stolen is not disclosed at the time. No police case or docket is opened.
10 February 2020: Von Wielligh returns from leave and informs president of break-in. Ramaphosa is in Addis Ababa for the AU summit, and CCTV footage is sent to him. He instructs Presidential Protection Unit head Major General Wally Rhoode to investigate.
Rhoode claims he was only told about the theft on 2 March 2020, but Ramaphosa says he told him “immediately”. This discrepancy is noted by Parliament’s Section 89 panel, which found Rhoode’s version “implausible”.
Rhoode also says it is not his job to open a case of theft, only “to conduct a preliminary inquiry and determine if any threat existed to the president”.
11 February 2020: Rhoode briefs Ramaphosa on steps taken after the security breach while flying to Cape Town from Addis Ababa.
12–29 February 2020: *Ramaphosa visited Phala Phala in the second half of February for a full briefing; the Section 89 panel reports that the exact date is not known. However, this is disputed in the Public Protector’s report, which states what Rhoode claimed. There are no independent records available for this travel, as yet.
*Suspects purchase high-value cars including a Ford Wildtrak and VW GTI, cash deposits are made into bank accounts, and luxury items are bought. Namibian authorities also identified some suspects through bank accounts and properties and vehicles they suspect were purchased with the stolen money.
*Rhoode’s informal security investigation continues after he assembled a team. He conducted staff interviews at Phala Phala and collected evidence. He says his actual investigation only began after 2 March. Both the Section 89 panel and the Public Protector view these activities as improper.
2 March 2020: Ramaphosa calls Rhoode to his Hyde Park residence. Rhoode says this is the first time he has heard about the theft of money. Rhoode said he would confer with his superiors. His interviews and interrogations on the theft of money only began after this date, he said.
For the rest of March, there are details of Rhoode and Sergeant Hlulani Rekhoto conducting investigative activities at Phala Phala and elsewhere without a docket or case. They used state resources for this.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and the Public Protector found these activities to be outside normal channels and that both men need to be disciplined for these actions.
April–May 2020: No activities or events have been publicly recorded.
4 June 2020: Second burglary occurred at Phala Phala.
READ | Phala Phala: Hawks confirm investigation into second break-in at Ramaphosa farmhouse is underway
7 June 2020: Suspect Imanuwela David, identified as Phala Phala theft mastermind, flees and is arrested in Namibia for immigration violations. He admits “that US dollars taken from the president had been concealed inside furniture”. Namibia first learns about a theft at Phala Phala.
17 June 2020: First official Namibian police report. Framed as an immigration investigation and not robbery.
19 June 2020: ‘No man’s land’ border meeting between Rhoode’s team and Namibian police officials at Ariamsvlei. Information and intelligence were exchanged, and the SA side requested discretion.
21–24 June 2020: A confidential Namibian intelligence report says that discussions about Phala Phala happened at a presidential level. Namibian police investigate bank accounts and purchases. A court preservation order is obtained to freeze the assets of suspects. Rhoode requests to travel to Namibia.
25–27 June 2020: Rhoode and Benjani Chauke – Ramaphosa’s special adviser and, at the time, presidential envoy – travel to Namibia. Chauke meets with Namibian President Hage Geingob. Rhoode says it had “nothing to do” with Phala Phala. This trip and its real purpose are still disputed.
July 2020: It is confirmed that Imanuwela David used a fake passport. Rhoode’s travel request was approved 12 days later. Namibia cancelled the preservation order on assets identified from the sale of stolen proceeds because no SA criminal case had been registered despite Rhoode’s months of investigation.
November 2020: David is deported back to South Africa.
News24’s Kyle Cowan maps out David’s transactions in 2020, obtained by a police financial investigator.
READ | Phala Phala: R15m – not R10m – was taken from Ramaphosa farm, forensic investigation shows
August 2020–May 2022: No public developments.
1 June 2022: Arthur Fraser, the former State Security Agency director-general, files a criminal case against Ramaphosa at the Rosebank police station.
This is the first time the Phala Phala saga is made public. Charges include alleged kidnapping, money laundering and a cover-up linked to the Phala Phala burglary.
The reserve bank’s investigation also begins.
2 June 2022: The Presidency publicly confirms the burglary and says the president denies any criminal conduct. The Public Protector receives the first official complaint.
During June 2022: Political pressure builds. The DA asks SARS and SARB to investigate if the money was declared and if any exchange controls were violated.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa writes to the Speaker of the National Assembly to request a parliamentary investigation.
The EFF calls on the president to resign.
Fraser makes further statements to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, the Hawks.
Multiple complaints are made to the Public Protector.
8 June 2022: Then Public Protector, now impeached, Busisiwe Mkhwebane announces the Public Protector will investigate the saga, this after ATM leader Vuyo Zungula also files a complaint.
9 June 2022: Mkhwebane is suspended by Ramaphosa because she was facing an impeachment process.
10 June 2022: The Namibian Presidency denies “assisting” Ramaphosa. It says Namibian President Geingob denies that he “may have acted inappropriately and/or participated or abetted in the apprehension of the individuals concerned”.
14 June 2022: ATM submits a motion in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution, seeking an inquiry to decide on the president’s removal. Instead, a month later (5 August 2022), the National Assembly Speaker establishes a panel to determine if the president has a case to answer for.
16 June 2022:Namibian police issue a statement denying that they did “dirty work” for Ramaphosa.
21 June 2022: The justice ministry denies any record of a request from Namibian authorities.
9 September 2022: The High Court declares Ramaphosa’s decision to suspend Mkhwebane invalid. The DA challenges this at the Constitutional Court, and on 13 July 2023, the High Court decision is overturned.
14 September 2022: A Section 89 independent panel is appointed by Parliament.
30 November 2022: The panel, led by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, submits its report to Parliament. It finds prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated his oath of office and anti-corruption laws.
5 December 2022: Ramaphosa challenges the Section 89 panel report and seeks to have it set aside.
13 December 2022: The National Assembly votes against referring the panel report to an impeachment committee. (214 against and 148 for, as the ANC used its majority to shield the president).
10 January 2023: The EFF seeks the Constitutional Court's help to review and set aside the National Assembly vote.
1 March 2023: The Constitutional Court dismisses the president’s review application for direct access to overturn the Section 89 report and the EFF’s direct access application.
30 June 2023: Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka releases the final report on alleged breaches of the Executive Ethics Code, finding the allegations against the president not substantiated, while making findings of improper conduct against several South African Police Service (SAPS) members, including Rhoode.
14 August 2023: The SARB finalises its investigation. It makes a statement on 21 August summarising its findings, stating it could not conclude there was an exchange-control contravention because there was no “perfected transaction”.
13 February 2024: The EFF and ATM launch a fresh Constitutional Court application challenging the National Assembly rules.
14 February 2024: The SAPS finalises a disciplinary process against Rhoode and finds him not guilty on all charges raised.
28–29 May 2024: The sixth Parliament term expires and elections are held.
26 November 2024: The Constitutional Court hears the EFF and ATM challenge to the National Assembly’s December 2022 decision not to refer the Section 89 panel report for further processing.
8 May 2026: The Constitutional Court delivers judgment (CCT 35/24), sets aside the National Assembly’s 2022 vote as unconstitutional and invalid, declares Rule 129I inconsistent with the Constitution and orders Parliament to refer the Section 89 panel report for further parliamentary processing.
11 May 2026: Ramaphosa delivers a national address on the Phala Phala saga and says he will not resign. He defies calls for him to step down following the Constitutional Court ruling.
13 May 2026: National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza announces that Parliament will establish an impeachment committee to investigate Ramaphosa following the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
14 May 2026: The ANC backs Ramaphosa’s decision not to resign.
* News24 used the Public Protector, SARB, IPID, Parliament’s Section 89 reports and news reports to stitch together this timeline. It is not an exhaustive timeline.
