By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least two suspects have been arrested in connection with a 2020 attack on South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in which foreign currency stuffed under a sofa cushion was stolen.
A third suspect is being trailed, police spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said, adding that the two suspects will appear in court on Tuesday.
Dubbed “farmgate”, the controversy first came to public glare when Arthur Fraser, the former head of the country’s state security agency, filed a criminal complaint against President Ramaphosa last year.
Mr Fraser accused the president of bribery, money laundering and concealing a crime in relation to the alleged theft of an estimated $4m (£3.2m) cash from his farm.
President Ramaphosa failed to report the alleged theft to police in an attempt to conceal the existence of the large sum of cash in the farm.
Mr Ramaphosa confirmed the theft, but disputed the figure, saying it was $580,000 (£470,000) not $4m that had been stolen from his property and denied any criminal activity.
He claimed the money was proceed from sale of buffalos produced in his farm.
The president was cleared of any wrongdoing by the ombudswoman, also known as the public protector, in June.
Mr Ramaphosa became president in 2018 pledging to tackle corruption.
He succeeded Jacob Zuma, whose time in office had been marred by many allegations of graft.
