Police Minister Senzo Mchunu declares Phala Phala investigation report 'top secret'

THE Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has completed an investigation into the break-in at Phala Phala, a game reserve owned by President Cyril Ramaphosa, but said this would remain a "top secret" and will not be made public.

This was revealed by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in a written reply to a parliamentary question by Vuyo Zungula, the leader of African Transformation Movement (ATM).

Although the Public Protector's and the South African Reserve Bank's reports on Phala Phala are publicly accessible, Mchunu did not explain why the report has been classified as "top secret" and will not be made public.

Zungula inquired about the timeline for the police directorate's release of the finalised report, the reasons behind the delays in its publication, and the current status of the report.

Mchunu's response was "IPID has completed its investigation and the Recommendation Report was referred to the SAPS on October 3, 2023 for implementation. IPID received the outcome from SAPS and was satisfied with the response.

"The Investigation Report has been classified “Top-Secret” in terms of the paragraph 3.4.4 of the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) and as such, until it is accordingly declassified, it would not be released for public consumption."

On why the report was delayed, Mchunu said it was impermissible to make available a classified report for the purpose that ATM has requested it for.

"In essence, there is no delay in making the report available, but it is not allowed to make it available," he added.

Mchunu said IPID was enjoined by its establishing Act to operate independently and impartially and to function free of undue influence.

IPID had investigated the actions of VIP protection officers assigned to Ramaphosa.

These officers were alleged to have embarked on an extensive and misguided search in Namibia to locate the US dollars reportedly stolen from the president's farm in Limpopo in 2020.

Meanwhile, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has cleared President Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing following its investigation into the millions of undisclosed foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020.

In October, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decided not to pursue charges against Ramaphosa in connection with the Phala Phala incident.

This decision came after a comprehensive review of all pertinent evidence, which had been submitted by the Hawks for evaluation.

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