WATCH: Linda Mti fails to appear before Zondo, commission adjourns

Former Correctional Services commissioner Linda Mti failed to appear at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that was set to hear his testimony on Tuesday, along with that of Pretoria Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair.

According to Mti’s legal representatives, the former commissioner received the note summoning him in front of the Zondo commission too late.

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo ruled that the commission could not proceed with Mti’s evidence and the matter will be heard at a later date.

Zondo also postponed Nair’s testimony after his legal representatives told the commission that he wants to cross-examine former Bosasa employee Richard le Roux.

This is due to Nair needing time to go through Le Roux’s statements.

“The problem is that we keep getting confronted with new evidence as they go, which is unfair, because as he prepares himself for something, something new comes up.”

Background:

Mti was implicated in corruption by former Bosasa COO, Angelo Agrizzi, and he was also was found to have awarded illegal tenders worth R1-billion by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in 2013.

In January 2019, Agrizzi told the commission that Bosasa to paid the former commissioner R65,000 a month in bribe cash, money which was delivered to his doorstep.

Agrizzi and Le Roux also implicated Nair. They told the commission that security upgrades had been installed at Nair’s Pretoria home at Bosasa’s expense, which amounted to R20 000.

Nair, who is currently on suspension, argued that he was not involved in any Bosasa-related matters as he paid a fixed maximum contract price for the work done.

Meanwhile on Monday, former Water Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane refuted claims that she received bribes from Bosasa.

Agrizzi had told the commission that Mokonyane received R50 000 a month from Bosasa.

The cash was allegedly aimed to secure tenders from the state. Agrizzi told the commission that he had witnessed the money being handed over to Mokonyane on two occasions.

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