Ipid’s Phala Phala report no longer secret … but there’s a catch

2026-03-02 - 10:24

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has confirmed that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has declassified its report into the Phala Phala farm robbery. The directorate launched its investigation into the conduct of police officers allegedly involved in the Phala Phala theft saga in 2022. Its decision came after the African Transformational Movement (ATM) laid a complaint with the investigating directorate. Zungula had asked Ipid to investigate allegations that top police brass knew about the alleged cover-up of the February 2020 theft at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. However, in a parliamentary response to EFF MP Mazwi Blose in November last year, Cachalia said the Ipid report had been classified as ‘top secret’ to protect the integrity of the investigation, witnesses, and South African Police Service (Saps) members who might have been implicated and to ensure that Saps members do not see their names in public platforms before their trial commences. “Moreover, Ipid was aware of the fact that DPCI is investigating the criminal aspect of this matter, and it is inevitable that information contained in the Ipid report will also be expressed in the DPCI case docket. To ensure that information obtained through Ipid’s investigation is not put out in the public, prior to the commencement of the criminal trial, Ipid classified the Investigation Report as Top Secret,” said Cachalia. In that same response, Cachalia said Ipid was considering declassifying the report “to balance the individual rights as alluded to above with the public interest to access information”. Ipid’s Phala Phala report On Monday, Zungula shared another parliamentary response from Cachalia confirming that Ipid had concluded its investigation into the Phala Phala matter. The investigating directorate has also declassified the report. “After considering the initial reasons for the top secret classification and public interest, Ipid came to a decision that the classification is no longer serving the purpose. As a result, Ipid declassified the investigation report on 2 February 2026,” said Cachalia. ALSO READ: ‘He broke the rules’ – Farm manager says suspect not allowed in president’s house However, the report will only be accessible through proper legal processes, he said. “Ipid investigation reports are inherently not published for public consumption, and as such, there is no intention to release or publish the report publicly,” explained Cachalia. “Access to the investigation report will only be granted through the appropriate legal processes. This implies that any person, whether natural or juristic, seeking access to the investigation report must submit an application to the information officer in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act. “All personal and sensitive information relating to witnesses and alleged suspects will be redacted prior to any release. Annexures containing raw evidence or personal identifiers will remain restricted to authorised personnel only, in accordance with the minimum information security standards. In light of the above, Ipid will not publish the investigation report.” READ NEXT: Witness details why he hid cash in Ramaphosa’s couch