Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson wielded such influence that
he was able to tell former president Jacob Zuma "what to do" and influence appointments in state institutions.
This is according to former Bosasa COO and Watson’s right-hand man, Angelo Agrizzi, who was testifying for the seventh day at the state capture inquiry on Thursday. He has been testifying about corruption and bribes relating to the firm’s contracts with the government.
This was the first time the commission, headed by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, heard evidence that is not linked to the Gupta family, who along with Zuma were at the heart of state-capture claims.
However, Agrizzi’s testimony shows that, just like the Guptas, Watson was able to give the former president instructions.
Agrizzi was detailing for the commission how Bosasa paid National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) officials Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi bribes in exchange for information regarding an investigation into the facilities management firm’s role in prison tenders.
Four Bosasa contracts with the department of correctional services were investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which in 2009 handed over a report to the NPA, yet there has never been a prosecution.
Agrizzi said that in May 2015, when it became clear through the media that Jiba, the now suspended deputy national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), and Mrwebi, the suspended special director, were compromised, Watson told him and former correctional services commissioner Linda Mti that he was going to meet with Zuma over the issue.
"He had that type of relationship with the president, where he could tell the president what to do," Agrizzi said, adding that Watson would visit the former president regularly.
Agrizzi handed over a recording of the meeting between himself, Watson and Mti, where the Bosasa CEO "role played" what he would say during his meeting with Zuma. The recording was played to the commission. Watson, in the recording, is heard practising how he would tell Zuma that this issue needed to be "closed down", and that needed to get the right person at the NPA.
He also suggests to Zuma who should be appointed NDPP and mentions, among others, Jiba. Watson on the recording also tells Mti and Agrizzi that Zuma had told him before that Jiba "was his person".
Jiba is alleged to have been Zuma’s right-hand person in
the NPA.
In 2018, former minister of mineral resources Ngoako Ramatlhodi’s former adviser, advocate Mahlodi Muofhe,
told the state capture inquiry that Zuma had offered him the post of NDPP, but said he believed the condition of his appointment would have been that he "did not touch" Jiba.
Jiba, along with Mrwebi, is also facing an inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
The suspended deputy NDPP is also waiting to hear whether she will be charged again for fraud and perjury relating to the processes she followed in charging former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen with racketeering.
Agrizzi explained to the commission how Bosasa had used sensitive NPA information it had received from Jiba, Mrwebi and another official, Jackie Lephinka, given to it to avoid prosecution.
The former Bosasa employee told the commission how Mti allegedly met the NPA officials, mainly Jiba and Lephinka, on a weekly basis and had given them codenames. Mti referred to Jiba as "snake", Lephinka as "J" and Mrwebi as "snail".
Jiba received R100,000, Mrwebi R10,000 and Lephinka R20,000 monthly payments from Bosasa.
Among the sensitive information handed over to the company was a list of witnesses to be interviewed as part of the investigation, internal NPA memos, minutes of meetings labelled secret, draft charge sheets and affidavits.
Agrizzi said access to confidential information and witness lists had been extremely useful to Bosasa as it was "very easy to manipulate them when you have cash".
He also alleged that Jiba and Lephinka had given Mti advice on the representations Bosasa should make to the NPA on why it should not be prosecuted.
Agrizzi will continue with his testimony on Monday.
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