IPID’s Phala Phala burglary report declassified

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia confirmed this in a written response to a parliamentary question from the African Transformation Movement, noting that the report was declassified on 2 February. 

The investigation by IPID focused on the conduct of police officers involved in the aftermath of the 2020 burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo game farm.

Some $580,000 in cash was stolen during the incident. 

ActionSA has welcomed the move but questioned how the process was handled.

The party’s national chairperson, Michael Beaumont, said classifying the report had effectively deprived South Africans of the right to know what happened to members of the Presidential Protection Unit and how they handled the investigation at the president’s farm.

"The acting minister has also stated that the report is not to be released, as it is not IPID procedure, and that any legally obtained version of the report is likely to be heavily redacted. One can only wonder how much valuable information will be concealed under the mountain of inevitable redactions. 

“The victory of obtaining this report, however, will allow ActionSA and civil society to challenge both the redactions and the report itself in court if these concerns are realised."

The Ministry of Police has indicated that IPID reports are not meant for public release and can only be accessed through proper channels, such as a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application.

Nevertheless, Beaumont believes the declassification opens the door for ActionSA and civil society to contest any redactions and the report's contents in court, should transparency concerns persist.

"This is why ActionSA’s fight, and our victory, matters. ActionSA was already in the process of preparing legal papers to declassify the IPID report. Legal means will be considered again if IPID does not provide the full transparency South Africans have been demanding,” he said.

ALSO READ