JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 23: Former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi continues with his testimony at commission of inquiry into state capture, chaired by chief justice Raymond Zondo on January 23, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Agrizzi revealed that, Bosasa deleted 40 000 documents implicating the company and its executives in corruption from its servers days before investigators from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) could access them. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Felix Dlangamandla)
Angelo Agrizzi set for another ‘tell-all’ showdown at Mokgoro inquiry
The road to redemption continues for Agrizzi at the Mokgoro inquiry.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 23: Former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi continues with his testimony at commission of inquiry into state capture, chaired by chief justice Raymond Zondo on January 23, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Agrizzi revealed that, Bosasa deleted 40 000 documents implicating the company and its executives in corruption from its servers days before investigators from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) could access them. (Photo by Gallo Images / Netwerk24 / Felix Dlangamandla)
Former chief operations officer (COO) of Bosasa (now known as African Global Operations), Angelo Agrizzi, is not going off our radars just yet. His next date is with the Mokgoro inquiry.
Read – Mokgoro inquiry: How the NPA nursed high-profile international bribery cases
What is the Mokgoro inquiry about?
This inquiry was set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to assess the fitness of the suspended deputy national director for public prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba, and Lawrence Mrwebi, to hold office at the National Prosecutions Authority (NPA).
The two seniors have been implicated in a range of corruption scandals and what brings Agrizzi to this inquiry, that is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice, Yvonne Makgoro, is the inclusion of Jiba and Mrwebi in his testimony at the state capture inquiry.
So far, the Mokgoro inquiry has heard about Mrwebi, who is the suspended special director for public prosecutions, and his off-the-books dealings.
Read – Nomgcobo Jiba may have escaped prosecution yet again
Why is Angelo Agrizzi testifying at Mokgoro inquiry?
However, we have yet to get more context on Agrizzi’s claims that he and Jiba were paid by Bosasa for protection from prosecution.
In Agrizzi’s testimony, Jiba and Mrwebi were allegedly called to the quarters of Linda Mti, the former national correctional services commander.
The call, Agrizzi alleged, was to assist in removing the special investigative unit (SIU) off their tale as they were in the midst of a dodgy procurement deal that involved the correctional services.
“He (Mti) called Nomgcoba Jiba ‘Snake’ because she was very alert and poised to strike and she was poison. Lawrence Mrwebi he called ‘Snail’, because he was slow, very lethargic and wouldn’t get anything done.” Agrizzi testified.
Read – NPA suspensions: Why Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi are in trouble
This evidence and more will be tested by Mokgoro as Agrizzi is expected to dish out a lot more than we anticipate.
The embattled state capture inquiry witness spent weeks on the stand, leading us into the dark side of a government that purports the image of righteousness and goodwill.
