TheCommission of Inquiry probing allegations of State capture adjourned on Thursday in a dramatic fashion after the key witness raised concerns about his safety following a security breach.
FormerBosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi said he was concerned about threats on his life after he spotted former policeman and special operations manager at Bosasa, Solomon Segale, who sneaked in using his expired police identity card at the Parktown venue.
Agrizzi was put in witness protection after he received death threats when he blew the whistle on corrupt activities at Bosasa, and there are allegations of the release of a prison inmate to kill him.
His appearance before the state capture commission -- presided over by Deputy ChiefJustice Raymond Zondo -- was kept under wraps until the last minute as a result of the death threats.
A one-hour adjournment for lunch called by Zondo at 1pm on Thursday turned into a two-hour wait as a discussion into the security breach was being held behind the scenes.
"We had to delay resuming after lunch because there was a security situation in the building connected to the hearing that needed to be looked into. It has been looked into. It is necessary that measures be taken to ensure that those who come into this hearing are safe," Zondo said.
"The relevant authorities needed to be given space to do that. So we are going, therefore, to adjourn proceedings for this afternoon but we will resume tomorrow. The work that this Commission has to do is going to continue."
Earlier, the Commission was shown a six-minute video showing Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson, his business partner Johannes Gumede and former Bosasa executive director Papa Leshabane counting at least R1 million allegedly used to pay a bribe inside a "walk-in vault" at Bosasa offices where confidential documents were also stored.
Bosasa has been implicated in corruption allegations, doing favours for, and giving donations to influential politicians in return for lucrative government tenders.
TheCommission resumes on Friday.
-African News Agency (ANA)
