Picture File: Whistleblower and former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi speaks during an interview on November 18, 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Rapport/Elizabeth Sejake)
The R1.8 billion fraud and corruption case of former Bosasa chief operating officer (COO), Angelo Agrizzi, and his three co-accused has been postponed once again.
Agrizzi and his co-accused were expected on Monday to appear in the Pretoria High Court for the resumption of their case in connection with questionable tenders, valued at over R1.8 billion, that were awarded to Bosasa by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
Deputy Judge President Judge Aubrey Ledwaba, on Monday, provisionally postponed the case to 2 December 2022, after Agrizzi was a no-show again in court.
The matter has seen several delays in the past due to Agrizzi’s apparent ill-health as well as issues related to the legal representation of some of the accused.
The former Bosasa COO has not appeared in court since October 2020, citing ill health.
His lawyer, Advocate Mannie Witz, on Monday said the defence provided the State with reports from four medical experts to justify Agrizzi’s absence during court proceedings.
According to a Weekend Argus report, Agrizzi was reportedly diagnosed with severe obesity and suffers from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, which is a disorder that affects normal breathing.
Earlier this year in March, the State was given permission to appoint a physician to examine Agrizzi. Witz said the court was awaiting the outcome of this process.
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“The State procured various medical experts in similar fields of work, expertise and knowledge to examine the reports.
“What we’ve arranged with the honourable Judge Ledwaba is that doctors will meet either in person or virtually to do a joint pre-trial minute, where they either agree to agree or agree to disagree on the medical reports.
“By then hopefully, we’ll have the way forward for Mr Agrizzi whether he is medically and neurologically fit to stand a very testing trial that’s probably going to last for a long period of time,” Witz told SABC News.
Agrizzi, former DCS commissioner Linda Mti, former DCS chief financial officer (CFO) Patrick Gillingham and former Bosasa CFO Andries Van Tonder face a string of charges of fraud and corruption in connection with four tenders awarded to Bosasa and its subsidiaries between August 2004 and 2007.
The contracts were for the rendering catering and training services, installation of CCTV cameras, installing perimeter fencing and supplying a CCTV system and monitoring equipment at prisons.
At the last court appearance on 22 July, the State said it intended to bring an application for unreasonable delay in terms of Section 67 and 342A of the Criminal Procedure Act.
This was due to the continued postponements in the case, which the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID) believes are deliberate and meant to stall the case.
Witz said they filed heads of arguments related to the State’s application, claiming that it took the State a year and a half to get medical experts to finally examine Agrizzi.
“If there has been any delay, we are the ones who allege that they brought the delay… to me it’s a fruitless exercise, they [the State] know what the delay is.
“It all relates to his medical condition. Either he is medically fit or neurologically fit, or a combination of both, to stand trial or he is not. It is simple and easy as that. Nobody from the State or defence are medical experts,” he said.
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