FRIDAY BRIEFING | The great farm heist: Who is trying to give Ramaphosa horns?

The great farm heist: Who is trying to give Ramaphosa horns?

President Cyril Ramaphosa could be in some serious legal trouble if the uncertainty around the theft of a large amount of money from his game farm in Limpopo is not cleared up soon.

Although there's no doubt that the revelations about the theft - made by former Zuma super-spy Arthur Fraser - is part of the ANC's internecine factional battles, he certainly has a case to answer for.

The question then becomes: what does this all mean? Who benefits from it, and who stands to lose?

It is doubtful that Ramaphosa will be removed from his position as head of state.

Despite Fraser's attempts, the evidence is still too paltry, and the repercussions of what happened too murky to warrant a full-blown parliamentary process. It also doesn't seem as if it has had any serious effect on his standing in the governing party, and unless he is charged with something like transgressing laws regulating foreign currency or perhaps defeating the ends of justice, internal processes won't kick in until much later.

The most significant impact thus far, as my colleague Carol Paton wrote earlier in the week, is on his standing as a champion of honesty and good governance. This has now to a large degree been tainted by his admission that he did have lots of money on his farm and that it was indeed stolen from his possession.

Why wasn't it reported? And why deal in such large amounts of foreign currency?

But more importantly: who wins in this whole conflagration? 

This week's Friday Briefing attempts to answer these questions, and more.

Best,

Pieter du Toit 

Assistant Editor: In-depth News 

Nothing harmless about Arthur 'the friendly bear' Fraser

President Cyril Ramaphosa had a deal with Arthur Fraser: you leave me alone and I leave you alone. Now that deal has fallen like a house of cards. Qaanitah Hunter explains why.

Ramaphosa's legal woes threaten his rebuilding agenda

If Cyril Ramaphosa perceives a significant personal risk from Arthur Fraser's revelations, he may be forced to make a political compromise which might weaken his sponsorship of the security and law enforcement apparatus, writes Ongama Mtimka.

While Ramaphosa is in serious trouble, it is not time for him to go

There must be little doubt that Arthur Fraser would lay serious charges against Cyril Ramaphosa willy-nilly and without any credible evidence. That and the confidence with which he laid those charges appears to rule out the possibility that they are trumped-up charges with little or no merit or substance, writes Ebrahim Harvey.

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