By Biodun Busari
A seasoned accountant, Cloete Murray who was probing high-level corruption cases in South Africa has been shot dead along with his son.
The 50-year-old was the liquidator for Bosasa, a company implicated in numerous government contract scandals, BBC reported on Monday.
He also served as a liquidator for firms connected to the wealthy Gupta brothers, who deny bribery accusations.
Police will embark on an investigation to ascertain if there is a link between Murray’s murder and these corruption investigations.
BBC further said Murray was shot by unknown gunmen while driving in Johannesburg with his 28-year-old son Thomas, a legal adviser, on Saturday.
While Thomas died at the scene, Murray was rushed to hospital where he died of gunshot injuries, local media reported, citing a police spokesperson.
The pair were driving their white Toyota Prado towards their home in Pretoria, BBC quoted South African media.
The investigator’s job as a court-appointed company liquidator was to inquire into the accounts of firms that had folded, recover assets, and report any criminality.
One of those companies was Bosasa, a government contractor specialising in prison services.
The landmark Zondo commission into corruption concluded the company extensively bribed politicians and government officials to get government contracts during the nine-year presidency of former President Jacob Zuma, from 2009 to 2018.
Zuma refused to cooperate with the inquiry but has denied accusations of corruption.
In 2018, incumbent South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would repay a $35,000 (£27,300) donation from Bosasa.
An anti-corruption investigator discovered he had misled parliament over the donation, but that finding was discharged by the country’s High Court.
Ramaphosa has also faced other corruption allegations, which he denies, as Bosasa went into voluntary liquidation after banks closed its accounts.
Murray was also working as a liquidator for firms linked to the Gupta brothers. The Zondo commission found that the brothers – Ajay, Rajesh and Atul – tried to influence political and economic decisions during Zuma’s presidency in a process known as “state capture”.
The Guptas moved from India to South Africa in 1993 and owned a wide-ranging portfolio of companies that enjoyed lucrative contracts with South African government departments and state-owned companies.
The South African authorities are currently working on having the Gupta brothers repatriated from the United Arab Emirates, where they have been arrested, to stand trial.
They have denied accusations of paying financial bribes to win contracts.
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Last modified: March 20, 2023
