Vincent Smith, once a powerful ANC MP and parliamentary committee chairperson, is headed to prison while comrades accused of similar offences walk free.

Almost six years after the Zondo Commission heard explosive testimony from former Bosasa executive Angelo Agrizzi implicating several senior ANC leaders, including Vincent Smith, the former MP was sentenced to seven years' direct imprisonment after entering into a plea and sentence agreement with the State.

This shows that the wheels of justice, although slow, are turning in State Capture cases, said the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), advocate Andy Mothibi.

Agrizzi, the man responsible for packing cash bribes into grey bags for delivery and for keeping a record of the payments in a little black book, told the commission in 2019 that Bosasa had made payments of more than R800,000 to Smith while he served as an MP and chaired Parliament's portfolio committee on correctional services.

At the time, Smith denied that the money was a gratification. He told Justice Raymond Zondo the payments were a personal loan from Agrizzi to help cover his daughter's university fees.

However, on Thursday, 5 March, Smith pleaded guilty in the Gauteng Division of the High Court to charges including contravening Section 7 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, fraud, money laundering and contravening the Tax Act.

'Abuse of authority'...