Bosasa liquidator Cloete Murray critical, son Thomas dead in apparent hit

UPDATE: Cloete Murray passed away. Read more here.

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Cape Town – Gunmen opened fire, wounding Bosasa liquidator and killing his son, while they were travelling in a white Toyota SUV on the N1 north in Midrand on Saturday afternoon, authorities said, in what is believed to have been an ambush.

Cloete Murray was rushed to hospital and is in a critical condition, while his son, Thomas, died on the scene.

“The police in Midrand will be investigating a case of murder and attempted murder following a shooting incident at New Road off-ramp on the N1 north,” said police spokesperson Dimakatso Sello.

“The two men were travelling together when their vehicle was shot at by unknown suspects. The son was fatally shot, while the father sustained injuries and was taken to hospital,” said Sello.

“The circumstances that led to the incident are unknown at this stage.”

Advocate Oeloff de Meyer, who has close ties with the Murray family, told the “Weekend Argus” that, according to his knowledge, Murray was critical.

“His youngest son died there and then ... Thomas was a legal adviser ... we believe it was a hit ... I spoke to Murray’s mother-in-law ... he is still in hospital,” said De Meyer.

Solidarity Union’s Gideon du Plessis, who is a close friend of Murray, told the “Weekend Argus” that he was on life support. He had been shot in the head and the bullet was lodged in his brain. “It’s just a matter of time”.

“There is a reason that he is the most prominent liquidator in South Africa ... that's why Solidarity made use of his services too. He is a giant in the industry. It’s tragic. I worked closely with them," said Du Plessis.

The 900-page Zondo Commission report on Bosasa contained a long list of those who should be investigated for organised crime, corruption and fraud.

In August, the “Weekend Argus” reported that Jared Watson, the nephew of former Bosasa boss Gavin Watson, had challenged the appointment of Sechaba Trust’s Murray as liquidator.

Sechaba Trust was in recent years also awarded the liquidation of commercial airline operator Comair.

The “Weekend Argus” also reported that Mathole Motshekga, who was a member of the Judicial Services Commission and is the husband of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, came under scrutiny for allegedly misrepresenting his stake in Sechaba Trust.

Motshekga declared that he owned a 20% stake in the company.

However, he owned a 54% stake, according to documents seen by the “Weekend Argus”.

According to the company’s share register, Motshekga has been a major shareholder since 2011.

But in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 parliamentary members’ interest register Motshekga said he only owned 20%.

Murray previously told the “Weekend Argus” that Motshekga had not misled Parliament over his shareholding.

In an affidavit addressed to the Master of the High Court, seen by the “Weekend Argus”, former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi ripped into Sechaba Trust and Motshekga.

"I now would like to place into context the occurrences with Cloete Murray and Sechaba, and how the Companies act and Liquidations Act were transgressed by Cloete Murray," read the affidavit.

"It has become apparent to me now that the method in which I and others have been approached by the liquidators is not only unethical but illegal. Unfortunately, I was at the time not aware of the process and the legal requirements, nor was I aware that the law was purposefully being broken by Cloete Murray abusing my goodwill in order to tout for business," read the affidavit.

In 2019 Gavin Watson, the head of controversial services company Bosasa, now known as African Global Operations, died while driving on the R21 as it approaches the airport.

At the time, there had been fierce speculation about whether the crash was a straightforward accident, whether it was the result of a heart attack or stroke, or if Watson was murdered. Some have even suggested the accident was staged.

Weekend Argus