#Other countries : South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to be subpoenaed to provide answers in an investigation into an embarrassing burglary case, the office of the Republic’s Ombudsman announced on Tuesday.
«We intend to subpoena the President (to obtain) the information we need»the spokesman for the public ombudsman, Oupa Segalwe, told AFP by text message, without specifying when the summons would take place.
The institution had opened an investigation in June, after Ramaphosa, 69, was accused of buying the silence of burglars who came across large sums of money at one of his properties.
>>> READ ALSO: South Africa: Ramaphosa, booed on May 1, recognizes a “loss of confidence”
In February 2020, according to a complaint filed by former South African intelligence chief Arthur Fraser, burglars broke into a farm belonging to the president in Phala Phala, in the northeast of the country, where they found the equivalent of nearly four million euros in cash.
The complaint accuses Ramaphosa of concealing the burglary from the police and the money from the tax authorities, arranging for the kidnapping and interrogation of the thieves, then bribing them to remain silent.
Ramaphosa admitted to the burglary but denies the allegations of kidnapping and bribery, saying he reported the burglary to the police. He also disputed the sums advanced, assuring that the money came from the sale of cattle.