If you thought the death of Gavin Watson had already dished up all of its twists and turns, think again.

The last time we covered the aftermath of the crash, an eyewitness spoke of seeing Watson’s car pulled over on the side of the road with the hazards on, in the moments before his car collided with a pillar on the road leading to the drop-off and parking sections of OR Tambo International Airport.

A second eyewitness spoke of seeing the crash happen at a massive speed, with no screeching of tyres like one would associate with the brakes being applied.

Watson’s family spoke privately about believing he was murdered, and the preliminary conclusions of a private pathology report sent to the family this week will only further heighten suspicion.

The Citizen reporting below:

According to the…report sent to Gavin Watson’s family this week, the late CEO of Bosasa was already dead before his vehicle hit the pillar.

As a result, suicide has been ruled out by the private pathologist hired by the Watson family…

The conclusion about Watson’s death was reached based on the fact that the body didn’t show signs of “significant trauma” despite Watson’s Toyota Corolla smashing into a concrete pillar on the way in to OR Tambo Airport at a speed above 80km/h.

His face wasn’t badly damaged and there wasn’t much bruising either, despite initial reports that Watson may not have been strapped in to the driver’s seat.

There wasn’t nearly as much blood on the scene as was expected, based on the fact that an artery in Watson’s neck was severed, presumably by the crash, which vehicle data suggested took place at between 80km/h and 100km/h.

A member of the Watson family told the Citizen that they have the final five seconds of data from the vehicle before the accident, and it shows that the car’s speed remained constantly around 80-100km/h.

So, what about the eyewitnesses then? Get ready for the plot to thicken:

“We have further information to suggest the ‘eyewitnesses’ were bribed to make statements contrary to that, suggesting that the vehicle was travelling at a high speed, was accelerating, and driving recklessly.

“None of these statements are consistent with the data from the vehicle or accident scene,” said the family member.

Accident reconstruction expert Konrad Lotter, who was hired by the Watson family, as well as a private forensic pathologist, both expressed concerns about how the crash site was handled in the immediate wake of the accident.

Watson family members have claimed that Watson’s belongings were not placed in an evidence bag, and did not undergo any forensic testing.

The family member that spoke with the Citizen for the latest report said that although they could not prove their suspicions at this point, they found his death very suspicious:

“Why was Gavin in the vicinity of the airport? Most likely for a meeting, but no one has come forward to say they were meeting him, which is troubling.

“Why was a dead man’s phone moving from Germiston to Bryanston at 8pm at night?” the family member also asked, referring to Watson’s missing cellphone. “No vagrant does that.”

The family member stressed, however, that the reports were preliminary and it would be best to wait for the final findings, which would include information such as toxicology data.

“It may have just been a heart attack that caused the accident, but that does not answer some pretty key questions, including how he would coincidentally have just had a heart attack at the one section of road not covered by cameras.”

This really is one of those stories that may leave us with more questions than answers going forward, and some of the details are ripe for those who are fond of conspiracy theories.

One thing we do know for sure is that Gavin Watson thought he had a pretty special relationship with God. So much so, in fact, that he claimed he was ‘sent by God’ to guide his staff, as well as believing that spiritual leaders had bestowed special powers upon him.

In a Daily Maverick article from last week, Jacques Pauw covered this:

Bosasa managers were perplexed when at times the pastors broke down at prayer meetings in the company’s boardroom and rambled in strange tongues before blessing company CEO Gavin Watson.

“I am the church and you must listen to me because God has sent me to counsel and guide you,” Watson told his flock at the daily prayer meetings at Bosasa. Once a week, he handed out the wafers at holy communion.

Despite this close relationship with God, Watson had no problem dishing out bribes all over the show, and was also said to have an inappropriate relationship with one female member of staff:

A central figure in Watson’s religious world was former Bosasa employee Lindie Gouws. She has been identified in the media as Watson’s “long-time girlfriend” and was fingered at the State Capture Commission as one of his financial benefactors.

Agrizzi testified that Watson regularly bought her houses while Bosasa’s tax consultant, Peet Venter, said she had received two salaries from two different companies.

Venter complained to Watson that it was wrong and morally unjustified. Watson threatened to fire him. After her resignation at Bosasa, she remained on the payroll of African Global Operations (Bosasa’s new name)…

Watson reported to his inner circle that [Malawian evangelist-turned-politician Chris] Daza had apparently professed that Gouws was the “true anointed” one. She was known as “Mother Mary” at Bosasa.

“He believed every word so these prophets were frequent visitors to Bosasa and were always received with pomp and ceremony by Gavin. His gullibility knew no boundaries. This included several reports from Gouws that she had died, flatlined and was raised from the dead. Gavin would relate the apocryphal stories with wide-eyed wonder.”

…“Watson believed everything his mistress fed him about getting regular visitations from God at two o’clock at night. He was a gullible sucker for any foreign pastor who claimed to be a prophet. These prophets from Nigeria and other places would arrive or organise a meeting and win him over without too much effort. Premises, facilities, cash injections were common as long as they prophesied.”

Cool. That all sounds completely normal, and not in the slightest bit batshit crazy.

Gouws has denied that she had an improper relationship with Watson, and denied that Bosasa was a cult-like environment:

She said there were certain rituals that took place such as offering holy communion and holding prayer meetings on a regular basis. The staff were free to believe the way they wanted to – provided that Christianity was at the centre of everything.

Ah, yes – that sounds like religious freedom to me.

It’s worth reading the full Daily Maverick article here – there’s even a mention of our favourite potato farmer turned charlatan evangelist, Angus Buchan.

Will we ever know the truth of what happened to Gavin Watson? At this point, there are so many people trying to cover their tracks, it seems unlikely.

[sources:citizen&dailymaverick]