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- Major General Wally Rhoode, head of the police's Presidential Protection Service, could be suspended soon.
- He is facing charges related to an allegedly off-the-books investigation into a burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa's farm in February 2020.
- A Sudanese businessman paid $580 000 (R10.5m at current exchange rates) for buffalo.
The head of President Cyril Ramaphosa's protection unit, Major General Wally Rhoode, is facing suspension amid an internal investigation into his conduct around a burglary at the president's Phala Phala farm in February 2020.
Rhoode, a South African Police Service (SAPS) official, was appointed to head the Presidential Protection Service (PPS) in 2018 after he served as head of security for Ramaphosa's CR17 campaign.
News24 has learnt that in mid-September, Rhoode was served with a notice of an internal investigation to determine the facts around the burglary and more importantly, Rhoode's role and actions in the immediate aftermath.
Prior to the finalisation of the investigation, however, Rhoode has been asked to respond to three charges and provide reasons to explain why he should not be suspended.
News24 understands the three potential charges being weighed against Rhoode include allegations that:
- He supplied false information for the reason he undertook a trip to Namibia with Ramaphosa's special advisor, Bejani Chauke, in June 2020;
- He gave an instruction for the PPS' occurrence book (OB) to be removed from a central office of the unit, and
- He allegedly conducted his own investigation outside police processes.
News24 understands that he is yet to be served with a formal suspension notice. While the internal investigation is continuing, one source who has knowledge of the probe said Rhoode was yet to be interviewed.
The sequence of events, according to one person familiar with processes around Rhoode's troubles, is cementing beliefs that Rhoode is being targeted for removal prior to the ANC's elective conference in December.
An OB is a centralised register kept by all police stations or units that documents events and important information in entries that normally include a date and a unique reference number. A normal, well-kept OB will include information such as the name and time of an officer reporting for duty at a station, to significant events, such as a burglary at the residence of the president.
The trip to Namibia meanwhile, with a police helicopter which flew to no man's land at the Nakop border post with Rhoode and Chauke in June 2020, was, according to Rhoode's response to investigations, because Chauke was sent to discuss matters he was not privy to with Namibian President Hage Geingob.
In June, former State Security Agency director general Arthur Fraser laid a criminal complaint at the Rosebank police station against Ramaphosa and Rhoode. He revealed that the burglary had occurred and that an estimated $4 million in cash had been stolen. Fraser's affidavit made it clear the amount was speculative.
Sunday World also reported on the developments around Rhoode this weekend saying the newspaper had learned Rhoode was already suspended two weeks ago.
News24 has since confirmed that Ramaphosa told Public Protector investigators, in a written response to questions posed by the office, that the exact amount was $580 000 (R10.5 million at current exchange rates) in cash.
Fraser further alleged that Rhoode had been involved in attempts to cover up the burglary and conducted an off-the-books investigation. Fraser further made allegations of kidnapping and torture against Rhoode but offered no evidence to back up these claims.
Rhoode had been reporting directly to the national police commissioner, a practice that was started under former president Jacob Zuma, while the true hierarchy of the Protection and Security Services (PSS) meant Rhoode should have reported to Brigadier Sam Shitlabane, the head of PSS.
In July, Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola walked back the status quo, resulting in Rhoode reporting to Shitlabane once more. It was seen as a move to create distance between Masemola and Rhoode as well as between Rhoode and Ramaphosa, according to one person who is familiar with developments.
Rhoode and Ramaphosa have both denied any wrongdoing.
In September News24 revealed the identity of the person who paid the $580 000 for buffalo to an employee of Ramaphosa's farm as Hazim Mustafa, a Sudanese businessman who, according to social media posts, lives in Dubai.
EXCLUSIVE | Here's the Sudanese millionaire - and his Gucci wife - who bought Ramaphosa's buffalo
Mustafa handed over the cash on 25 December 2019, around 45 days before the burglary took place on Sunday, 9 February 2020.
Ramaphosa told the Public Protector in a written response that he had instructed his staff to move the money from a safe in a main building to a safer location, which resulted in one of the lodge managers stuffing the bundle of cash under couch cushions inside Ramaphosa's residence on the Limpopo farm.
The lodge manager believed that "no one would dare steal from the president", Ramaphosa's response to Public Protector read.
The response revealed that Ramaphosa had been aware that the cash was at the farm prior to the burglary, and crucially, that the buffalo remained at Phala Phala.
