Has Arthur Fraser, one of the country’s most controversial practitioners of espionage, set the stage for the eventual removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa — or is he simply a spy under siege, firing hot air?

Fraser this week set the proverbial cat (not quite David Mabuza) among the pigeons when he revealed that there was a $4m (R60m) cash heist at Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm, Phala Phala, orchestrated by petty thieves and his domestic worker. It was not so much dramatic simply because the idea of a helper staging an Oceans 11 robbery against a president is jaw-dropping, but more so for the political implications.

Flowing from Fraser’s much-circulated statement, police have confirmed that they are investigating a “case of money laundering, defeating the ends of justice and kidnapping” opened by Fraser against Ramaphosa. ..