Johannesburg - The Zondo commission resumes this morning with more Bosasa witnesses expected to testify.
The commission has been hearing from Bosasa witnesses who have appeared before but have various issues that need to be clarified.
Last week the commission heard from former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi.
On Monday the commission heard from the former lead investigator for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Clint Oellermann.
He was in charge of the SIU investigation into Bosasa which looked at tenders that were awarded by the department of correctional services to the company.
The unit works within the proclamation issued by the president which guides what needs to be investigated but also based on SIU act.
The SIU concluded its investigation into Bosasa in 2009 and the report was handed to authorities and the department of correctional services.
It was only a decade later in February 2019 did the NPA and the Hawks act to arrest individuals implicated in the report.
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Agrizzi along with his former colleagues Andries van Tonder appeared at the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court in connection with the allegations of corruption worth R2 billion. Former correctional services officials Lind Mti and Patrick Gulling also appeared in court in the same charges of racketeering and contravention of the PFMA act.
Oellerman said he could not understand why it took authorities 10 years to bring a case to court.
It is unique that a matter has taken this long to get to court,” said Oellermann.
Oellermann also told commission how the Bosasa, now know as African Global Operations, had brought litigation against the SIU in order to stop the unit’s entire investigation.
As a result, the unit’s investigation was largely affected. This was partially because the SIU’s bosses decided to strike a deal with Bosasa which resulted in the unit agreeing not to interview officials from Bosasa including directors and its CEO Gavin Watson.
Oellermann said that decision was arrived at by his bosses and that it did curtail the investigation as officials could not be interviewed.
The SIU’s investigation was finalised before this legal litigation was finalised.
Oellermann was asked if any action was taken in relation to the report when it was handed to the NPA and the department of correctional services. He said the only remedial action that was done was the disciplinary proceedings against Gillingham.
He said that disciplinary hearing was later cancelled after Gillingham resigned.
The inquiry resumes at 10 am.
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