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Bosasa was a South African company specialising in providing services to government, most notably correctional services. It consisted of Bosasa Group, Bosasa Youth Development Centres, and African Global Operations (formerly Bosasa Operations). The company was liquidated in 2019 after whistleblower Angelo Agrizzi revealed the malfeasance in prolonged scandal about its allegedly
corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
relationship with members of the governing
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
(ANC), aired during the Zondo Commission of Inquiry.


History

The company was founded in 1981 as Emafini (Pty) Ltd. After a change of management the company changed its name to Meritum Hostels (Pty) Ltd in 1985 changing its name again to Dyambu Operations (Pty) Ltd in 1996 after signing an agreement with the
ANC Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from ...
controlled Dyambu Trust. Gavin Watson was then made company CEO. The company was renamed Bosasa 2000.
Gavin Watson Gavin Joseph Watson (12 July 1948 – 26 August 2019) was a South African businessman who served as Chief Executive Officer of Bosasa, African Global Operations, previously known as Bosasa, from 2000 until his death in 2019. His company was impl ...
bought Bosasa in the year 2000. Watson was well connected to ANC members such as Linda Mti, who was prisoners commissioner from 2001 to 2006. In 2017 the company changed the name of its Bosasa Operations division to African Global Operations. On 18 February 2019, the company announced that it would submit to
voluntary liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...
as banks intended to close its accounts by the end of the month. Bosasa said that, due to reputational damage arising from corruption allegations, it was unable to find a financial services provider. Watson died in August 2019 in suspicious circumstances.


Government contracts

Then known as Dyambu Operations, the company started providing services to prisons in 1995 when it established the Bosasa Youth Development Centres, a collection of
juvenile detention Juvenile may refer to: In general *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood * Juvenile (organism) Music * Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), stage name of American rapper Terius Gray *''Juveniles'', a 2020 studio album by the band Kingsw ...
facilities, in partnership with the
Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
Department of Social Development. In 2004, the company received its first major government contract when the Department of Correctional Services appointed it to provide catering services to the prison system. The company is estimated to have received government tenders to the value of R12 billion ( $918.8 million) between 2003 and 2018. Among other things, it operated the Lindela Repatriation Centre in
Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius and Abner Cohen. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a ...
since 1996.


Corruption

Bosasa's state contracts had been subject to allegations of impropriety since the mid-2000s, and they were investigated by the Special Investigating Unit between 2006 and 2009. In August 2018, the company's former chief operating officer, Angelo Agrizzi, announced his intention to become a
whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
and "provide comprehensive details" about "racketeering, corruption and money laundering that I have been aware of over the last 18 years" at Bosasa. Over the next two years, Agrizzi testified at length to the Zondo Commission about Bosasa's relationship with ANC and government officials, which he characterised as deliberately corrupt. His account directly implicated President
Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...
and his associates. Indeed, Agrizzi claimed that Bosasa made monthly payments of R300,000 to Zuma, collected on his behalf by former
South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa. Founded in 1929 as Union Airways it later rebranded to South African Airways in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannes ...
chairperson
Dudu Myeni Duduzile "Dudu" Cynthia Myeni (29 October 1963 – 14 June 2024) was a South African businesswoman, a chairperson of South African Airways SOC Limited, and executive chairperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation since September 2008. She is known fo ...
. Other politicians who allegedly received benefits from Bosasa included
Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...
, who reportedly received a R500,000 donation during his 2017 campaign for president of the ANC; minister
Nomvula Mokonyane Nomvula Paula Mokonyane (born 28 June 1963) is a South African politician who is currently the First Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC). She was the first female Premier of Gauteng from 2009 to 2014 and subsequently ...
, who Agrizzi said was paid R50,000 a month for years to protect the company from law enforcement agencies; and minister
Gwede Mantashe Samson Gwede Mantashe (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who is currently serving as the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. He has been responsible for the mineral resources portfolio since Feb ...
, who Agrizzi said received security upgrades at his properties. Agrizzi also said that senior prosecutors Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi were bribed to protect Bosasa from prosecution. In addition, News24 reported that Bosasa had donated over R40 million to the ANC since the 1990s and that it was therefore a significant source of revenue for the party.
Babalo Madikizela Babalo Madikizela is a South African urban planner and politician who served as the Eastern Cape MEC for Public Works from May 2019 to July 2022 and as a Member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature from November 2018 to August 2022. Madiki ...
, the treasurer of the
Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...
ANC, said the Bosasa scandal will make it more difficult for the ANC to raise funds in the future. The scandal led to comparisons of Bosasa and its executives to the controversial
Gupta family The Gupta family is a wealthy and influential business family from India, with close ties to former South African President Jacob Zuma and his administration. The family's most notable members are the brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupt ...
. In March 2022, the Zondo Commission published its findings about Bosasa's role in state capture and corruption. The commission found that the company "bribed politicians, government officials, President Jacob Zuma and others extensively. Bosasa and its directors and other officials simply had no shame in engaging in acts of corruption". It concluded that "the evidence revealed that corruption was Bosasa’s way of doing business." Agrizzi, Linda Mti, and former MP Vincent Smith were among those indicted on criminal charges relating to bribery by Bosasa. In March 2023, two of Bosasa's court-appointed liquidators, Cloete and Thomas Murray, were shot dead in a suspected assassination. Freedom Under Law, a legal advocacy organisation, said that the shooting was likely linked to the Murrays' work tracing Bosasa's finances, comparing it with deaths of others investigating corruption such as Charl Kinnear and Babita Deokaran.


References


External links

The Zondo Commission's findings on Bosasa were published in four volumes in March 2022:
Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part 3 Vol. 1

Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part 3 Vol. 2

Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part 3 Vol. 3

Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Report: Part 3 Vol. 4
{{Witwatersrand companies 2018 in South Africa South African brands Companies based in Gauteng Mogale City Local Municipality Corruption in South Africa