Day seven of the marathon testimony of former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi wrapped up on Thursday, and some of us will no doubt be struggling with the mountains of revelations Agrizzi has served so far.
It's a lot to take in, so here is a quick list to get you caught up with what was revealed on day seven:
- Agrizzi revealed how confidential National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) documents were leaked to Bosasa, particularly to CEO Gavin Watson, by Linda Mti, the former correctional services commissioner. Mti allegedly got the documents from the NPA's Nomgcobo Jiba and Jackie Lepinka.
- In 2013, the lead prosecutor in the Bosasa matter, Marijke de Kock, wrote a memo in which she explained that she believed she would be ready to prosecute some of those involved in the Bosasa tenders-for-bribes scandal by the end of 2013. This never happened.
- In exchange for the documents and for the case against the company to be shut down, Bosasa executives allegedly paid cash to Mti which he would then pass on to Jiba, Lepinka and Lawrence Mrwebi, De Kock's boss.
- Jiba allegedly received R100 000, Mrwebi R10 000 and Lepinka R20 000 every month. All three have denied these allegations.
- At the end of the day a recording of a meeting on May 8, 2015, between Mti, Watson and Agrizzi was played. In the recording, Watson can be heard bragging about how he planned to speak to former president Jacob Zuma about the appointment of a new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) who would "protect" Jiba at a meeting scheduled between the men later that month. A month later, Shaun Abrahams was appointed as NDPP.
- In the recording, Agrizzi mentions that Watson had ensured that investigators were removed from the Bosasa case. This relates to Hawks investigators, who have indeed been changed on at least three occasions since 2011.
- Finally, Agrizzi revealed that Jiba had allegedly, during meetings with Mti, given advice that would help him and Bosasa get the case against the company thrown out.
Agrizzi's testimony is set to continue on Monday.
