The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, will be summoned to respond to an investigation into an embarrassing case of theft on his farm, the Ombudsman’s Office announced on Tuesday.
The deadline given to Ramaphosa to respond to questions related to this file, which gave rise to allegations of corruption against the head of state, expired on Monday.
We intend to summon the president (to obtain) the information we need,” Provedoria spokesman Oupa Segalwe told AFP, without specifying when the assignment will take place.
The institution opened an investigation in June after Ramaphosa, 69, was accused of having bought the silence of thieves who found large sums of money in one of his properties.
In February 2020, according to a complaint filed by former South African intelligence chief Arthur Fraser, thethieves who entered a farm of the President in Phala Phala, in the northeast of the country, found the equivalent of almost four million euros in cash.
The complaint accuses Ramaphosa of hide the theft from the police and money from the tax authoritiesof having organized the kidnapping and interrogation of the thieves, and of bribing them to keep silent.
Ramaphosa admitted to the robbery but denies kidnapping and bribery chargessaying he reported the theft to the police.
The South African president also questioned the amounts mentioned, assuring that the money came from the sale of cattle.
Source: Observadora
