Armscor chief executive named in Zondo Commission testimony

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Armscor chief executive Kevin Wakeford has requested and been granted special leave to prepare evidence for the Zondo Commission.

This emerged on Monday after he was named as a person said to have benefitted from the Bosasa Group. Angelo Agrizzi, former chief operating officer of the Krugersdorp headquartered facilities management group, named Wakeford and Armscor in yet another day of high-level name-dropping to the Judicial Commission of Enquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

Armscor group executive: corporate support Solomzi Mbada said in a statement the state-owned defence and security procurement agency “has not done any work and has no known contract with the Bosasa Group, now called African Global Corporations (sic)”.

As Bosasa the group, renamed African Global Operations in 2017, was allegedly involved in large scale bribery to obtain contracts from government departments and agencies including Correctional Services, Home Affairs and the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA).

Wakeford submitted a request for special leave to allow him time to prepare evidence to be submitted to the Zondo Commission, sitting in Johannesburg.

The Armscor statement gives no indication of how long Wakeford will be absent saying only “the (Armscor) board will meet in due course to finalise interim arrangements”. It does also not indicate when Wakeford will be called to testify.

An internal Armscor broadcaster notice, also issued on Monday, notes the Armscor board “will make a decision on his (Wakeford’s) replacement in due course.”