South African tax authorities were unable to find any evidence that Hazim Mustafa, the Sudanese businessman who paid $580 000 in cash to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in December 2019, declared the cash he brought into the nation.
In December 2022, DA leader John Steenhuisen filed a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request with the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Steenhuisen requested a copy of the declaration form after Mustafa produced a document that he showed journalists in an interview with Sky News but refused to hand it up.
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SARS responded to Steenhuisen on March 5, indicating that the tax service was satisfied that after taking reasonable steps to find the record, it concluded that the record either did not exist, or it could not be found.
SARS also submitted an affidavit by the relevant officer, in this case, legal specialist: corporate legal services Siyabonga Nkabinde, who had searched for the documents, in accordance with PAIA.
“On or around 17 January 2023, I commenced engagements with relevant various business units within SARS that I believed may be in the custody of and/or be in possession of and/or have knowledge of the record requested,” Nkabinde’s affidavit read.
“[I] was advised that according to the search for the record in various SARS Passenger Processing Systems, the record could not be found and/or may not be in existence,” the affidavit continued.
Mustafa stated the document was a copy of the declaration he signed when he arrived at OR Tambo International Airport. On Christmas Day 2019, Mustafa said he gave over $580,000 in cash to an employee of Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.
The money was given to Sylvester Ndlovu, who, according to Ramaphosa, took it from a safe in the farm’s main building and hid it under sofa cushions in the president’s house.
Burglars got access to the property in the early hours of 9 February 2020 and stole an undisclosed sum of money. The crime went unnoticed until July 2022, when former State Security Agency Director-General Arthur Fraser reported a criminal case to Rosebank police station.
Ndlovu, who stole the money from Mustafa, was recently working at a lodge part-owned by Fraser’s niece, Geraldine Moleketi-Williams, according to News24.
Mustafa broke his silence in response to the findings of a Section 89 commission constituted by Parliament and led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. The panel was tasked with determining whether the president had a case to answer. Mustafa stated he was in South Africa looking for a house to buy.
Instead, he ended up purchasing buffaloes with “undesirable breeding traits,” according to Ramaphosa.
According to News24, the buffaloes remained on the farm for over two years after Mustafa paid up the money.
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Ramaphosa was slammed in the Ngcobo report. The panel recommended that a comprehensive parliamentary probe be conducted, but the ANC utilised its majority in the National Assembly to prevent the formation of such a committee.
According to SurgeZirc SA, Ramaphosa was on the verge of resigning following the release of the Ngcobo report. The Constitutional Court dismissed his request for direct access to the court to challenge the findings last week.
South African tax authorities were unable to find any evidence that Hazim Mustafa, the Sudanese businessman who paid $580 000 in cash to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in December 2019, declared the cash he brought into the nation.
In December 2022, DA leader John Steenhuisen filed a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request with the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Steenhuisen requested a copy of the declaration form after Mustafa produced a document that he showed journalists in an interview with Sky News but refused to hand it up.
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SARS responded to Steenhuisen on March 5, indicating that the tax service was satisfied that after taking reasonable steps to find the record, it concluded that the record either did not exist, or it could not be found.
SARS also submitted an affidavit by the relevant officer, in this case, legal specialist: corporate legal services Siyabonga Nkabinde, who had searched for the documents, in accordance with PAIA.
“On or around 17 January 2023, I commenced engagements with relevant various business units within SARS that I believed may be in the custody of and/or be in possession of and/or have knowledge of the record requested,” Nkabinde’s affidavit read.
“[I] was advised that according to the search for the record in various SARS Passenger Processing Systems, the record could not be found and/or may not be in existence,” the affidavit continued.
Mustafa stated the document was a copy of the declaration he signed when he arrived at OR Tambo International Airport. On Christmas Day 2019, Mustafa said he gave over $580,000 in cash to an employee of Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.
The money was given to Sylvester Ndlovu, who, according to Ramaphosa, took it from a safe in the farm’s main building and hid it under sofa cushions in the president’s house.
Burglars got access to the property in the early hours of 9 February 2020 and stole an undisclosed sum of money. The crime went unnoticed until July 2022, when former State Security Agency Director-General Arthur Fraser reported a criminal case to Rosebank police station.
Ndlovu, who stole the money from Mustafa, was recently working at a lodge part-owned by Fraser’s niece, Geraldine Moleketi-Williams, according to News24.
Mustafa broke his silence in response to the findings of a Section 89 commission constituted by Parliament and led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. The panel was tasked with determining whether the president had a case to answer. Mustafa stated he was in South Africa looking for a house to buy.
Instead, he ended up purchasing buffaloes with “undesirable breeding traits,” according to Ramaphosa.
According to News24, the buffaloes remained on the farm for over two years after Mustafa paid up the money.
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Ramaphosa was slammed in the Ngcobo report. The panel recommended that a comprehensive parliamentary probe be conducted, but the ANC utilised its majority in the National Assembly to prevent the formation of such a committee.
According to SurgeZirc SA, Ramaphosa was on the verge of resigning following the release of the Ngcobo report. The Constitutional Court dismissed his request for direct access to the court to challenge the findings last week.