CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The leader of Africa’s most developed economy faces impeachment proceedings over a scandal from years ago involving around $580,000 in cash that was stashed in a sofa at his game farm and then stolen.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been accused of misconduct over the source of the money and attempting to cover up the theft in 2020 using his personal security team so as to hide its existence. He has denied wrongdoing.Here’s what to know about the “Farmgate” scandal and why impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa have been revived years later.
Cash stashed in a sofaThe scandal first broke in 2022 when a former head of South Africa’s state security agency walked into a police station, revealed the theft and accused Ramaphosa of money laundering and other offenses. The theft at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala ranch happened in February 2020, a year after Ramaphosa won an election, but wasn’t publicly known.After the revelations, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the theft happened, but denied wrongdoing, saying he reported it at the time to the head of his police protection unit.Ramaphosa said that the $580,000 in U.S. banknotes that was taken from the couch was from the legitimate sale of buffaloes at his ranch. He said the money was put under the cushions of a sofa in a spare bedroom in his private residence at the farm by a staff member who was concerned that other workers had access to a safe.Ramaphosa was a wealthy businessman before becoming president and is known for his love of livestock and game breeding.
