The Modimolle Regional Court in Limpopo has heard the details of how accused number one in the Phala Phala farm theft, Imanuwela David, splurged money on a luxurious vehicle.
David, one of the three accused in the break-in and theft at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm, bought a Range Rover amongst others.
The vehicle was bought after the infamous theft in Bela Bela in February 2020.
More than 500 000 US dollars hidden inside a sofa were stolen.
David has, however, told the court that the Range Rover vehicle which he bought was on behalf of his Zimbabwean friend, known as Tony.
During the cross-examination, Advocate Nkhetheni Munyai wanted to know why the vehicle was driven from a dealership by the accused, David, instead of the supposed new owner.
David outlines the details of the agreement to purchase the vehicle.
“If I hear you correctly, the agreement that I had with this Tony was that I am far, please do me this favour. I called the dealership, and there are certain cars that are limited. Please, right now I don’t have access to funds. Please take R5000 from your personal account and secure it. This is the reference number you should put on the payment. He gave me that reference number, and I went to my FNB account. He provided the account with the reference that he gave me to secure this particular Range Rover for him.”
Curt has also heard how large sums of money were deposited into David’s bank account.
In some instances, more than R5 million was deposited into his bank account two years after the theft at the farm.
David told the court that money came from various sources as he had registered a business.
“I registered a business to source stuff from China; that’s why I registered a business. If I hear you correctly, I have a business registered, but the particular R3 million in question was whatever that I was sourcing. It was under my personal name, not my business. There is something called supply and demand; obviously, volume started growing from 2020 to 2021.”
Meanwhile, during his testimony last month, David told the court that his visit to Bela-Bela from Cape Town in February 2020 was to attend a car show, not to steal cash from the farm.
Details in the report below:
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