Phala Phala theft trial to get underway

JOHANNESBURG - After being postponed to allow one of the accused, Froliana Joseph, to give birth, the Phala Phala burglary trial is set to start on Monday at the Modimolle regional court, in Limpopo.

Siblings Froliana and David Joseph, along with their friend Imanuwela David, are accused of breaking into President Cyril Ramaphosa's game farm and making off with $580,000 in cash.

The incident took place in February 2020 and almost turned Ramaphosa's political career on its head, with calls for him to resign for allegedly breaching the ethic codes in the aftermath of the crime.

The last time this matter was on the roll, Joseph arrived in court heavily pregnant.

READ: NPA confident about strong case against Phala Phala burglars

The former cleaner at the Phala Phala game farm requested and was granted a three-month postponement to allow her to give birth and recover.

During the last appearance, the National Prosecuting Authority(NPA) also revealed that it is still seeking two Namibian nationals as suspects.

"We have already done the process of extradition to get other accused persons, but they are not going to be joined with this trial at this stage," said Limpopo NPA spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.

During the bail application stage, all three of the accused filed affidavits saying they intend to plead not guilty to all charges.