Kamogelo Olaitan
Pretoria Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair appeared before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday morning on charges of corruption.
Nair allegedly accepted the installation of R200,000 worth of security systems including a full electric fence, CCTV, and alarm systems at his home in Pretoria from Bosasa in 2016.
He was charged with misconduct and he was suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into his fitness to hold office as a magistrate in 2020.
Nair was implicated by former Bosasa employee Richard le Roux in the State Capture Commission.
Nair testified at the Commission that he couldn’t have influenced the awarding of any contracts to Bosasa and he didn’t accept the upgrades in exchange for any favourable judgments for the company.
He claimed he believed the work would be done by a Bosasa subcontractor named Bejoo.
He said he had agreed with Bejoo that cameras would be installed, and his fence would be fixed for R50,000. He said Bejoo did a shoddy job.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Sindisiwe Sekoba said Nair was allegedly granted the upgrades for his influence to act in a dishonest or improper manner.
The matter was postponed to 7 December for the defence to make representations.
Pictured above: Magistrate Desmond Nair has been charged with corruption. Image source@IOL
