Johannesburg – The family of corruption accused former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi has been left disappointed by his treatment by the State which they accuse of throwing Agrizzi to the wolves despite him giving overwhelming evidence of corruption over the past two years.
Agrizzi’s lawyer Daniel Witz said on Friday his client was currently under heavy security guard in a Johannesburg hospital where there was an intensive care unit, after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday.
Witz said Agrizzi had been stabilised overnight on Thursday but he not received any other updates on his condition.
“There’s about nine armed guards, including three stationed physically in his intensive care room, for whatever reason, we’re not certain why.
“He’s also restrained to the bed by his legs. The man is sedated, he’s on a ventilator which is down his throat, he’s on dialysis, he’s on drips, I’m not really sure where they think he’s going to go,” said Witz.
He said Agrizzi’s family had been left disappointed by how he had been treated by the State despite coming forward with information key to the state capture commission over the past two years.
“His family’s main concern is his health at the moment but, they’re obviously disappointed after all that Mr Agrizzi’s done over the past two years for the State and the prosecutors and assisting the government. They’re really disappointed in that he can just be thrown to the wolves like this,” Witz said.
Agrizzi was denied bail last week by the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court despite appearing for the proceedings carrying a small oxygen tank and looking frail.
Following arguments by the State that Agrizzi had failed to disclose he had moved millions into an offshore bank account in Italy, where he had also purchased a luxurious property and car, Magistrate Philip Venter deemed Agrizzi a flight risk and denied him bail.
Witz subsequently filed bail application appeal papers with the Johannesburg High Court and confirmed the matter would be heard on Monday morning at the Johannesburg High Court where he would argue that not only had his client been treated inhumanely, but the conditions he was being guarded under were not conducive for his health.
Political Bureau