Cloete Murray, a seasoned accountant who was investigating high-level corruption cases in South Africa, was killed along with his son on Saturday, according to reports from BBC. Murray, who was 50 years old, was the liquidator for Bosasa, a company implicated in several government contract scandals. He was also serving as a liquidator for firms connected to the wealthy Gupta brothers, who have been accused of bribery.
Reports indicate that Murray and his 28-year-old son, Thomas, who was a legal advisor, were driving in Johannesburg when they were shot by unknown gunmen. While Thomas died at the scene, Murray was rushed to the hospital, where he later died from gunshot wounds. According to a police spokesperson cited in local media, the two were driving their white Toyota Prado towards their home in Pretoria when the attack occurred.
As a court-appointed company liquidator, Murray’s job was to investigate the accounts of firms that had collapsed, recover assets, and report any criminality. One such company was Bosasa, a government contractor specializing in prison services. The Zondo Commission, which investigated corruption in South Africa, found that Bosasa extensively bribed politicians and government officials to secure government contracts during the nine-year presidency of former President Jacob Zuma, from 2009 to 2018.
Although Zuma refused to cooperate with the inquiry, he has denied accusations of corruption. In 2018, incumbent South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he would repay a $35,000 (£27,300) donation from Bosasa. An anti-corruption investigator found that Ramaphosa had misled parliament over the donation, but the country’s High Court dismissed the finding.
Murray was also investigating firms linked to the Gupta brothers, who are accused of attempting to influence political and economic decisions during Zuma’s presidency in a process known as “state capture.” The Guptas, who moved from India to South Africa in 1993, owned a wide-ranging portfolio of companies that enjoyed lucrative contracts with South African government departments and state-owned companies.
Currently, South African authorities are working to have the Gupta brothers repatriated from the United Arab Emirates, where they have been arrested, to stand trial. The Guptas have denied allegations of paying financial bribes to win contracts.
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