In the closing report into the handling of the housebreaking and theft at President Cyril Ramaphosa's private Phala Phala farm in Limpopo, the acting Public Protector has cleared him -- but the head of the Presidential Protection Service has questions to answer.

Acting Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka has cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of wrongdoing in the complaint against him over the handling of the housebreaking and theft at his private Phala Phala farm in Limpopo, which occurred in 2022.

The announcement was made during a media briefing by the Office of the Public Protector on Friday 30 June, 2023. Although there were 12 reports, much of the focus of the briefing centred on the Phala Phala scandal.

Initially, a leaked preliminary report -- which at that point was confidential -- showed Ramaphosa had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the handling of theft of forex at the president's private home in Limpopo.

First issue -- conflict of interest

In her breakdown of the case against Ramaphosa, Gcaleka said the allegation that the president improperly and in violation of the Executive Ethics Act exposed him to any "risk of a conflict between his constitutional duties and obligations and his private interests arising from or affected by his alleged paid work at Phala Phala farm" was not substantiated.

During the briefing, Gcaleka said the PP Investigating Team inspected the Register of Financial Interests of the president, particularly between 1 April 2019 and March...