President Cyril Ramaphosa is not among witnesses the National Prosecuting Authority NPA has lined up in the Phala Phala farm burglary trial.
Imanuwela David, Ndilinasho Joseph and Froliana Joseph are accused of burgling the farm, which Ramaphosa owns, and stealing 580,000 around R10.4 million at current exchange rates in February 2020.
They appeared in the Modimolle magistrate's court on Monday 19 May. However, the court postponed the trial to 15 September 2025 because Froliana Joseph is pregnant.
Ramaphosa wont testify in Phala Phala caseNPA Limpopo spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said the state will bring at least 22 witnesses to testify in the trial. However, Ramaphosa will not be among them.
"Obviously, we can get someone from the farm - it could be a manager or an administrator - to be part of the trial, not the President," Malabi-Dzhangi said in an interview with SABC News .
The NPA is also seeking extradition of two more suspects from, the spokesperson added. The trial against the three suspects arraigned on Monday will continue while the extradition request is being processed.
Former State Security Agency Director-General Arthur Fraser publicised the burglary in 2022 when he opened a case against Ramaphosa, accusing him of bribery, kidnapping and money laundering.
The President denied Frasers allegations. Subsequent investigations by the Public Protector, South African Reserve Bank and SA Revenue Service cleared him of wrongdoing.
In October 2024, the NPA also declined to prosecute him, citing no reasonable prospect of a successful prosecution.
Earlier this year, the Constitutional Court heard arguments in the Economic Freedom Fighters EFF application challenging Parliaments decision not to adopt an independent panel report on the matter.