South African Corruption Investigator, Cloete Murray, Fatally Shot

A South African accountant and his son were fatally shot while driving in Johannesburg. Cloete Murray, 50, was a liquidator for Bosasa, a government contractor embroiled in various high-level corruption scandals. He was also a liquidator for companies connected to the wealthy Gupta brothers, who have been accused of bribery as reported by BBC News.

Mr Murray’s role as a court-appointed company liquidator was to scrutinize the accounts of collapsed firms, recover assets, and report any criminal activity.

The Zondo commission investigating corruption found that Bosasa bribed politicians and government officials for government contracts during Jacob Zuma’s nine-year presidency from 2009 to 2018. As a result, President Cyril Ramaphosa had to repay a $35,000 (£27,300) donation from Bosasa in 2018, and he has faced other corruption accusations.

Mr Murray’s murder is being investigated for any possible links to his work uncovering corruption. For example, Bosasa, a government contractor specializing in prison services, went into voluntary liquidation after its accounts were closed by banks. Mr Murray’s work as a liquidator for companies connected to the Gupta brothers also implicated them in the process of “state capture.”

The Gupta brothers moved to South Africa in 1993, owned multiple firms with lucrative contracts with state-owned companies, and allegedly tried to influence political and economic decisions during Mr Zuma’s presidency. The South African authorities are currently seeking extradition from the UAE, where they were arrested. They have denied allegations of paying bribes to win contracts.

Photo by Mathias Reding