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Sudanese buffalo buyer at Phala Phala says he declared $580,000 cash at OR Tambo airport

I didn't even know who the farm belonged to — businessman

Mpho Koka Journalist
Dubai-based mogul, Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim, is married to a South African-born Bianca Odonoghue.
Dubai-based mogul, Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim, is married to a South African-born Bianca Odonoghue.
Image: Facebook

As President Cyril Ramaphosa’s backers mounted a fierce defence for his political life on Monday, the Sudanese businessman who paid loads of dollars at his Phala Phala farm was enjoying the Japan vs Croatia Fifa World Cup game in Qatar. 

The Dubai-based mogul, Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim, is married to a South African-born former bank worker and animal lover Bianca Odonoghue, his second wife. 

Owner of the football club Al Merrikh SC and funder of the Sudanese army, Hazim was thrust into the spotlight this week when Sky News reported that he claimed not to have known that the Phala Phala farm to which he paid dollars in cash is actually owned by President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Hazim’s Facebook page shows an avid football lover and influential figure often in the presence of powerful government officials and diplomats. 

His wife’s Instagram page (@richnotroyal) shows the former Durbanite lives a lavish Gucci and Prada lifestyle of expensive clothes, bags and other accessories.

On Monday, Hazim posed in Doha’s Al Janoub Stadium with a message꞉ “The real pleasure is to be with the faithful and to be in the midst of the crowds.” 

On Tuesday, he posted a cryptic Arabic message which Google translated to “If you are condemned from imperfection, it is my testimony that I am perfect.”

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Hazim said in 2019 he was in Limpopo celebrating Christmas and his wife's birthday, but didn't know who the buffalo or the farm belonged to.

“I wasn't aware it belonged to the president. I dealt with a broker — the one working on Phala Phala farm,” Hazim told Sky News. 

The Section 89 independent panel report raises the question of why the buffaloes were still on the farm three years after the receipt of sale.

The report found that Ramaphosa has a case to answer for the theft on his farm.

“When we did the deal, they were supposed to prepare the animals for export. Then the Covid-19 lockdown happened and there was delay after delay,” Hazim told Sky News. “It took too long, so I didn't get my money back but there is an understanding that I will be refunded,” he added.

Many questions also remain over the cash used in the buffalo deal.

When Sky News asked Hazim how he brought more than half-a-million-dollars in cash into SA, he responded plainly: “Through the airport.”

“I declared it, in Johannesburg ... yes, OR Tambo (International) Airport,” he said, but would not agree to present the declaration forms as evidence, citing the parliamentary process under way.

“$580,000 is nothing for a businessman like me. I don't know what the big issue is,’’ said Hazim. 

LISTEN | Phala phala report and its significance

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