Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson ‘kept his nose clean’ – Oellermann

Former lead investigator of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Clint Oellermann on Monday told the commission of inquiry into state capture that the unit’s investigators could not find any evidence such as documents and email trails that implicated Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson in tender irregularities at the department of correctional services.

Oellermann left the SIU in 2012. The unit issued the report into the company in 2009.

During the course of the investigation, Bosasa obtained a court interdict that limited the scope of the SIU’s investigation because investigators could not interrogate material witnesses, including Watson, yet former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi and the company’s former CFO, Andries Van Tonder, are mentioned in the report.

The chairperson of the commission, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, questioned why Watson was not mentioned in the SIU report if he had been implicated by persons the unit had been able to investigate.

Oellermann’s response was that often the evidence the unit obtained was hearsay and that no documents were signed by Watson, and no email had been sent by the CEO who “kept his nose clean”.

He said the evidence the SIU had obtained on Watson needed to be investigated further before they could approach him, adding that one of the witnesses interviewed by the SIU said they could not find anything on Watson’s computer or documents signed by him.

The SIU investigation was also complicated by an allegedly orchestrated server crash at the company, a matter Agrizzi attested to in his testimony at the commission.

Agrizzi, Van Tonder, Patrick Gillingham, as well as Linda Mti, were arrested in February by the Hawks on allegations of corruption related to the facilities management company and are due back in court on July 5.

READ MORE: Bosasa corruption trial postponed pending liquidation appeal

However, the arrests were said to be not in connection with evidence given to the commission.

Oellermann said out of the 15 charges on the charge sheet, two or three were not contained in the SIU report.

Despite these differences, Oellermann said the charge sheet was mainly based on the SIU report.

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