Phala Phala: Defence challenges cellphone data accuracy

The State’s cellphone analyst in the Phala Phala trial has been grilled over his method to associate numbers provided to him with the accused persons.

Imanuwela David and his siblings, Froliana and Ndilinasho Joseph, are charged with breaking into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm in February 2020 and stealing $580,000 in cash.

The trial is being heard at the Modimolle Regional Court in Limpopo on Monday.

In his evidence, the cellphone analyst testified that the numbers associated with the accused were all pinged near the Phala Phala farm during the reported time of the break-in.

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During cross-examination, the analyst told the court the cellphone numbers were provided to him by the investigating officer along with the names of the people associated with them.

This prompted the defence to ask the analyst whether he condcuts any independent investigations, like consulting Rica records, to verify whether the information he is given is correct.

“The Rica information is provided with the cellphone records, so I did have a look at the rice as part of my analysis; however, the IO [Investigating Officer] is the one, through his investigations, who identifies the individuals of names associated with the cellphone numbers, and I stick to that information. Even if the rica can come and say something else, but the io is the one who knows how he identified the numbers associated with the individuals.”

Under cross-examination, the analyst confirmed that one of the numbers associated with accused number two - Froliana, showed it belonged to someone else according to Rica records.