For South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, the cash-in-the-sofa scandal is the gift that keeps on giving. Sources confirm that investigators have uncovered a fresh trove of documents linking the president’s campaign to a 2020 heist at his Phala Phala game farm, where $580,000 in undeclared foreign currency was reportedly stuffed into furniture. The latest revelations, obtained by this newsroom, suggest that the funds were part of a laundering operation involving a network of shell companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.
The scandal, which first erupted in June 2022 after a former spy chief filed a criminal complaint, has refused to die. Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claiming the cash came from the sale of buffalo to a Sudanese businessman. But the paper trail tells a different story. Documents show that the buyer, a company called Mustakim Trading, was incorporated just weeks before the sale and dissolved shortly after. Its director, a man named Hazim Mustakim, has no record of owning a game farm or engaging in wildlife trade. Attempts to reach him have failed; his phone number is disconnected, and his listed address is a post office box in Johannesburg.
The president’s office has dismissed the new evidence as a “rehash of old allegations.” But the timing is corrosive. Ramaphosa is gearing up for re-election in 2024, and the African National Congress (ANC) is already fraying at the edges. Internal factions are using the scandal to undermine his leadership, with whispers of a recall if he cannot clear his name. “This is a slow-motion car crash,” a senior ANC insider told me. “Every month, another document surfaces. The party is asking: how much longer can we afford this?”
The investigative panel led by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo has already found that Ramaphosa “may have committed” serious violations of the constitution and anti-corruption laws. The report, leaked to the press, recommended a full inquiry into whether the president should face impeachment. But Parliament, controlled by the ANC, voted down the motion in December 2022. Now, with the new evidence, opposition parties are demanding the case be reopened.
The heart of the matter is the origin of the cash. Ramaphosa claims it was a legitimate business transaction. But the forensic accountants I consulted say the numbers don’t add up. The buffalo were valued at $580,000, but the market price for a similar animal in South Africa is around $80,000. Why the markup? And why was the payment made in foreign currency, in cash, in a country where foreign exchange controls require documentation for any sum over $30,000? “It stinks of money laundering,” one analyst told me, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “Either that, or someone was trying to hide something.”
The scandal has also drawn attention to the president’s inner circle. His son, Andile Ramaphosa, has been linked to a company that received payments from Mustakim Trading. Andile denies any involvement, but bank records show transfers totalling $120,000 between the two entities. The family’s spokesperson called the transactions “loans” that have since been repaid.
As the 2024 election looms, the cash-in-the-sofa scandal is a ticking bomb. For Ramaphosa, the question is no longer about innocence. It’s about survival. The ANC’s integrity committee has scheduled a meeting for next week to discuss the new evidence. If they decide to act, the president could face a recall before the ballots are cast. And that, for a man who built his reputation on fighting corruption, would be the ultimate irony.
Contacted for comment, the presidency sent a one-line statement: “The president has nothing to add to his previous statements.” But the documents speak volumes. And in this story, the paper never lies.
