Watsons still waiting for info on fatal crash
THE investigation into the fatal crash that claimed the life of former Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson is taking longer than expected and Watson’s family is getting impatient.
The investigation began in August last year after Watson crashed his vehicle near OR Tambo International Airport. Almost six months later it has not been concluded by the SAPS.
Before the crash, Watson was expected to shed more light regarding the company’s dealings before the state capture commission.
The dealings were flagged as corrupt during testimony from former Bosasa chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi.
One of Watson’s three children, Jared, said yesterday that when he last spoke to the SAPS, he was told the matter was not yet concluded. Among the outstanding matters is a toxicology report (tests that look for the presence of drugs in someone’s system) which was to be conducted by the Department of Health with the results then being handed to the police.
“When I spoke to them they said the investigating officer is away on leave until March. However, even when he is back they told me that once they are done we have to wait for the senior state prosecutor to see the docket and then we will be told the results. The senior state prosecutor will still have to go through the docket and decide whether they will prosecute or not,” Jared said.
He added that their team of experts which includes private investigators have their hands tied and are unable to do their own investigation which was ordered by the family.
“This is frustrating, it has been over six months now yet we have not been told what happened. They have not given us the cellphone records, no CCTV footage showing what happened, nothing. We cannot wait forever to get the truth,” Jared said.
SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, when asked how far they have gone with investigating the crash, said: “We are not commenting at all.”
Among the experts helping the family is Konrad Lotter, an accident reconstruction expert, who has already drawn a sketch of nine possibilities that could have led to the crash.
While the family await the accident report and a way forward, they are still going to face an insolvency inquiry.
News24 reported yesterday that the inquiry would be a closed process aimed at investigating the finances and any potential malfeasance by the company and its directors.
However, Jared said they have not received any summons or official notices about the reported process.
“I have no idea about that… we have not received any official information about it,” he said briefly when asked about the matter.
On the other hand, the company is still pursuing Agrizzi for allegedly defrauding it using a network of bogus companies.
The company is jointly pursuing Agrizzi with former chief financial officer (CFO) Andries van Tonder whom they accuse of working together to steal R37.5 million between 2012 and 2017 while both were employed by the company.
Agrizzi has denied the theft accusations.