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After initially failing to appear before the Zondo commission last week, Sandy Thomas, who is Nomvula Mokonyane’s former minister for water and environmental affairs, gave her testimony regarding Bosasa.
This comes after Mokonyane last month denied claims that he received bribes from Bosasa.
According to Thomas, he has worked for Mokonyane for 20 years and currently works at the House of Chief Albert Luthuli, which is the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC).
With attorney Viwe Notshe leading the evidence, Thomas revealed that she and Mokonyane are using the same attorneys, but argued that she is paying the legal fees out of her own pocket.
READ MORE: WATCH: Mokonyane’s personal assistant will take the stage at the Zondo commission
Thomas told the commission that he would receive birthday gifts from the late Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson over the years, which would be a “surprise,” however it did not happen often.
He said he would receive most of his gifts through former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi, with whom he spoke via phone calls.
In 2019, Agrizzi made accusations that Bosasa had a relationship with Mokonyane because she was “powerful.”
Agrizzi said the former minister received 50,000 rand a month in cash from Bosasa and also received gifts, including meat and alcohol for the family.
The former director of operations had also told the commission that Bosasa had paid for the maintenance of his home, including a landscaping service, repairs to electric fences and the installation of new security camera systems.
During his testimony, Thomas confirmed to the commission that Mokonyane’s aide or husband would tell him about housekeeping issues, such as when the power goes out, water pipes explode, or globes explode, which would later be taken care of by former Bosasa employee Richard Le Roux.
This follows Le Roux’s testimony last month that he had done some repair work at Mokonyane’s home.
“At one point the alarm went off and I got a call from home regarding an alert from the alarm system. Then I called Mr. Le Roux for help, as I had obtained his number from Mr. Mokonyane, ”she said.
He added that Le Roux knew where the house was.
ALSO READ: Insight: The Electrician, Nomvula Mokonyane and the Bosasa House Repairs
Thomas further said that Bosasa would send groceries to Mokonyane’s house and pay for “most” of them for his Christmas parties.
“There were packaged groceries, but the food would be distributed to the Kagiso families. There would also be Christmas groceries, but not all of them were made with Bosasa, ”he said.
Thomas added that in some cases, Mokonyane would pack and deliver groceries herself and spend time with older people in Kagiso.
Before lifting the commission, Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo noted that some of the evidence Thomas gave correlated with Agrizzi’s testimony about housekeeping issues at Mokonyane and others’ home.
See the full summary of the procedures below:
READ NEXT: Mokonyane denies that Bosasa attended Zuma’s birthday parties at his request
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