Bosasa (African Global Operations)
Bosasa was a South African facilities management and security company that built a multibillion-rand business empire primarily through the systematic bribery of government officials. Founded in 1981 (originally as Emafini, later Dyambu Operations, then Bosasa from 2000), the company was run by Gavin Watson, whose family had close ties to the ANC through anti-apartheid activism. Watson leveraged these connections to target lucrative government contracts, particularly in correctional services. The company received an estimated R12 billion in state contracts between 2003 and 2018. In 2017, the operations division was renamed African Global Operations in an attempt to shed the corruption stigma.
The Zondo Commission found that “corruption was central to Bosasa’s business model” and that the company “bribed politicians, government officials, President Jacob Zuma and others extensively.” Former COO Angelo Agrizzi turned whistleblower in August 2018 and testified for months at the Zondo Commission, detailing a systematic scheme in which Bosasa paid R75.7 million in bribes to win R2.37 billion in unlawful state contracts. Agrizzi alleged monthly cash payments of R300,000 to Zuma (collected by Dudu Myeni), R50,000/month to minister Nomvula Mokonyane, and security upgrades at Gwede Mantashe’s properties. NPA officials Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi were allegedly bribed to protect Bosasa from prosecution.
Bosasa also embedded itself financially within the ANC, donating over R40 million to the party since the 1990s, including a R12 million ANC donation in 2004 and an alleged R500,000 to Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2017 ANC presidential campaign. The ANC connection protected the company for years even after the Special Investigating Unit completed a damning investigation in 2009. Following Agrizzi’s Zondo testimony, banks withdrew facilities and Bosasa went into voluntary liquidation in February 2019. Gavin Watson died in August 2019 in a suspicious car crash. In March 2023, Bosasa’s court-appointed liquidators Cloete Murray and his son Thomas were shot dead in a suspected assassination — Cloete Murray on the N1 in Midrand on 18 March 2023, with Thomas dying at the scene and Cloete dying of his injuries the following day. No one has been charged for the killings as of April 2026. In November 2025, Agrizzi pleaded guilty to three counts of corruption and one of money laundering before the Gauteng High Court. His sentence of 10 years on each count was fully suspended for five years, conditional on him serving as a State witness in all related Bosasa prosecutions. The NPA justified the deal on grounds of Agrizzi’s deteriorating health and his prosecutorial value. Proceedings against Linda Mti, Patrick Gillingham, and Vincent Smith remain separate and unresolved.
Connections
- Gavin Watson — CEO and controlling figure; cultivated ANC network; died August 2019 in suspicious crash
- Angelo Agrizzi — COO; turned whistleblower; Zondo Commission testimony exposed the scheme
- Jacob Zuma — allegedly received R300,000/month, collected by Dudu Myeni; Zondo Commission finding: confirmed
- Cyril Ramaphosa — alleged R500,000 campaign donation 2017 (alleged, disputed)
- Nomvula Mokonyane — allegedly R50,000/month for protection from law enforcement
- Gwede Mantashe — allegedly received security upgrades at properties
- Nomgcobo Jiba — allegedly bribed to stall NPA prosecutions
- ANC (African National Congress) — donated R40m+ over years; ANC deeply implicated per Zondo Commission
- Zondo Commission — subject of Part 3 of final report (March 2022)
- Special Investigating Unit (SIU) — investigated 2006–2009; recommended prosecutions that were suppressed
- Department of Correctional Services (South Africa) — primary tender target; commissioner Linda Mti and CFO Patrick Gillingham bribed