Acting Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) boss Dr Hlengani Bila says the police watchdog classified its explosive report into the burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm to avoid compromising other investigations linked to the saga.
Bila briefed Parliament’s police portfolio committee on Wednesday, where MPs demanded answers over why the report had initially been kept under wraps.
Protecting integrity of ongoing probes
According to Bila, the decision was taken to protect the integrity of ongoing probes and to ensure SAPS members implicated in the matter were informed of disciplinary action before their names surfaced publicly.
“Prior to the implementation of the disciplinary recommendations, SAPS members identified for disciplinary recommendation had to be treated fairly by avoiding their names being flagged in the media or other platforms before they were informed of the process,” Bila told the committee in a virtual meeting.
He also revealed that the Hawks and the Public Protector were simultaneously investigating aspects of the Phala Phala matter under different mandates, warning that releasing the report prematurely could have undermined criminal investigations.
But MPs were not entirely satisfied with the explanation.
When committee chair Ian Cameron opened the floor for questions, several MPs pressed for more detail, with ANC MP Mogodu Moela among those seeking clarity on the classification decision.
Cachalia not involved in classification
Police Minister Firoz Cachalia quickly distanced himself from the controversy, insisting he had played no role in either classifying or later declassifying the report.
“I think it [classification] happened in 2023, before I was appointed,” Cachalia told MPs.
He stressed that Ipid operates independently under its own legislation and said he had never been consulted about either decision.
“With regard to the declassification, that indeed took place while I was the executive authority, and I can confirm emphatically that Dr Bila did not seek my advice or intervention, and that I had no role in making either the classification or declassification decision,” he said.
The meeting followed a request by African Transformation Movement parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula to Cameron, calling for Ipid to account before the committee after the report was made public.
‘Classified status lifted on February 2’
Cachalia, in response to a written parliamentary question from the African Transformation Movement, revealed that the report’s classified status was lifted on February 2.
The development follows months of legal pressure from ActionSA, which had prepared court action challenging the report’s “Top Secret” classification as unconstitutional and a “whitewash” allegedly aimed at protecting President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The party argued that the classification amounted to an abuse of power intended to shield the president from scrutiny over the controversial farm saga. It had also prepared a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application in an effort to obtain the report.
Suspects were bribed
The explosive Ipid report found that the head of security to President Ramaphosa used bribes to silence suspects linked to the theft of millions of rand from the president’s Phala Phala farm.
According to the watchdog, Maj-Gen Wally Rhoode and his associates conducted a parallel investigation outside the confines of the law instead of opening a formal criminal case. Suspects were allegedly apprehended, interrogated and bribed to conceal details surrounding the theft of about $580 000 (roughly R8-million at the time) in foreign currency.
Among the report’s most damning findings was evidence of the “bribery of suspects to conceal the events that took place at Phala Phala on 09 February 2020”.
It further found there had been “unlawful apprehension of suspects” and “unlawful interrogation of suspects”, underscoring what Ipid described as a blatant disregard for due process.
- The Acting Ipid boss Dr. Hlengani Bila explained to Parliament that the police watchdog classified its report on the Phala Phala burglary to protect ongoing investigations and ensure fair treatment of implicated police officers before public disclosure.
- The Hawks and the Public Protector were also investigating aspects of the case simultaneously, and early release of the report risked undermining criminal probes.
- Police Minister Firoz Cachalia clarified he was not involved in the decision to classify or declassify the report, emphasizing Ipid’s independence.
- The report’s classified status was lifted on February 2 after legal pressure from ActionSA, which argued the classification was unconstitutional and aimed at shielding President Ramaphosa.
- The report revealed serious misconduct, including bribery and unlawful interrogation by the President’s head of security to silence suspects linked to the theft of approximately $580,000 in foreign currency from the Phala Phala farm.
Bila briefed Parliament’s police portfolio committee on Wednesday, where MPs demanded answers over why the report had initially been kept under wraps.
“Prior to the implementation of the disciplinary recommendations, SAPS members identified for disciplinary recommendation had to be treated fairly by avoiding their names being flagged in the media or other platforms before they were informed of the process,” Bila told the committee in a virtual meeting.
He also revealed that the Hawks and the Public Protector were simultaneously investigating aspects of the Phala Phala matter under different mandates, warning that releasing the report prematurely could have undermined criminal investigations.
But MPs were not entirely satisfied with the explanation.
When committee chair Ian Cameron opened the floor for questions, several MPs pressed for more detail, with ANC MP Mogodu Moela among those seeking clarity on the classification decision.
Police Minister Firoz Cachalia quickly distanced himself from the controversy, insisting he had played no role in either classifying or later declassifying the report.
“I think it [classification] happened in 2023, before I was appointed,” Cachalia told MPs.
He stressed that Ipid operates independently under its own legislation and said he had never been consulted about either decision.
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Cachalia, in response to a written parliamentary question from the African Transformation Movement, revealed that the report’s classified status was lifted on February 2.
It further found there had been “unlawful apprehension of suspects” and “unlawful interrogation of suspects”, underscoring what Ipid described as a blatant disregard for due process.
