Ramaphosa Says $580,000 Was Innocently Hidden in Game Farm Sofa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa disclosed full details of how foreign currency he earned from the sale of buffalo was stolen from his game farm in 2020, saying he followed due process in reporting the crime and denied breaking any laws.

The animals were sold for $580,000 in cash to Sudanese national Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim in late 2019, Ramaphosa said in a 138-page submission to a parliamentary panel. The manager of the game farm initially stored the money in a safe, but later transferred it to a sofa in a spare bedroom “inside my private residence, because he thought it was the safest place, as he believed nobody would break into the president’s house,” Ramaphosa said.