Publications
Partners
The Guptas were not the only ones with the ability to influence government appointments. Bosasa chief executive, Gavin Watson, also swayed former president Jacob Zuma’s appointments of government and officials in the Hawks.
This was according to the startling testimony given by facilities management company, Bosasa’s former chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi.
Watson’s association and influence over Zuma dominated the later part of day seven of Agrizzi’s testimony on Thursday.
He told commission chair, deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, that Watson consistently visited former president Jacob Zuma.
“He would visit the president quite regularly and I remember ... he told me what a mess [Nkandla] was in terms of the building and that it should not have cost R250 million [R246 million],” said Agrizzi.
He revealed to the commission that he had audio recordings to this effect which led to the commission’s legal head, Advocate Paul Pretorius, requesting that the recording be played before those in attendance.
The recordings were taken during a meeting that occurred sometime in 2015 in which Agrizzi, Watson and former correctional services boss Linda Mti met at the latter’s Savannah Hills Estate house and strategised what they would discuss with the former president at a meeting to held “two or three days” after this gathering.
In the recording Watson can be heard telling Mti and Agrizzi that Zuma once told him (Watson) that Jiba “was his person”.
The Bosasa chief executive can also be heard saying former Hawks boss Berning Ntlemeza “is the right man at that place … but, Jiba [suspended NPA deputy director of prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba] has been buggered up, Lawrence Mrwebi [suspended advocate at the NPA] has also been buggered up. So how do you protect them Mr President?”
Agrizzi clarified that Watson was not directly talking to Zuma in the audio. “He was role playing”, strategising what he would say in a meeting that was scheduled for later that week.
Also in the recordings played before the commission there is a part where Watson says “Mr President, you don’t have much time left [as president] ... we need to get this thing closed down … We need to get the right people in the right place”.
Agrizzi said this is how Watson used to address the president and added that by this Watson meant that Zuma had to appoint people who could be influenced in their favour should the time come that they are facing prosecution.
More damning, Agrizzi also revealed to Zondo that Watson “had [the influence] to have people moved around in the Hawks and in senior government positions”.
He also said Zuma visited Bosasa before he went to Russia.
Day seven of Agrizzi’s testimony was also highlighted by the witness giving a detailed list of individuals from the NPA, and the department of correctional services who unduly benefited Bosasa and were remunerated monthly for their services.
Having already revealed yesterday that officials at the NPA assisted the facilities management company to avoid prosecution following the release of the Special Investigating Unit report, today Agrizzi revealed their identities and how much they received monthly.
He said Jiba received R100 000 monthly, while her personal assistant Jackie Lapinka, got R20 000 a month. Mrwebi was given R10 000 a month for his troubles.
Agrizzi revealed that there were also officials from the department of correctional services who also got a share of Bosasa’s “monopoly money”.
These were senior officers, Josiah Maako who got R15 000, Maria Mabena (R10 000), Shishi Matabela (R10 000), Dikeledi Tshabalala (R15 000), Zack Modise (R20 000), Mollot Ngubo (R15 000) as well as an official he referred to as Mkhabela (R10 000).
Agrizzi said the benefits received by Bosasa from these exploits were, “apart from the NPA not taking actions on the recommendations made in the findings by the Special Investigating Unit report which was published on 2009, these officials ensured that Bosasa received confidential documents on the investigations being carried out on the company.
When Pretorius asked him if Bosasa received any dividends from the bribes paid particularly to these NPA officials Agrizzi’s response was “most definitely”, adding that they were made privy to witness names and testimonies which they in turn used to go to these individuals and attempted to sway their testimony.
“This was fairly easy to do especially given that we had large sums of money to offer,” said Agrizzi.
