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Cassim's June 26 testimony

MS BATOHI: So why did your in your original statement say: "I did however, receive a phone call from Sanjay" asking if you could contact Mr Cronjé?

MR CASSIM: I did not see Sanjay's diagram at all.

MS BATOHI: You don't understand me. If your evidence now is that you received so many phone calls from Sanjay asking you to contact Mr Cronjé, why did your original statement, before the correction over this weekend, say 'a phone call from Sanjay', and why did it not reflect all the phone calls that you'd made?

MR CASSIM: It could have been hindsight.

MS BATOHI: You actually signed that statement. It was a commissioned statement, which you signed before a Commissioner of Oaths, indicating that everything was correct. And then over this weekend, after you get the diagram with all the phone calls you change it. Why did you say in the first place 'a phone call', when in fact there were a number of calls?

MR CASSIM: I made a mistake.

MS BATOHI: You didn't make a mistake, Mr Cassim. I'm putting it to you that you were trying to mislead this Commission, and when you became aware on Friday as a result of having received that diagram, that you were not going to be able to get away with this because of the number of calls there, you then changed it over this weekend. Isn't that correct?

MR CASSIM: It's not so.

MS BATOHI: Yes. I recall you counsel led you on something about what you felt was going on, I think towards the end, I must get this right. Unfortunately, I haven't made a full note of it. It was earlier today, so let me try to get this correct. I think - maybe your counsel will correct me if I'm wrong, but what you - what was put to you and what you agreed to was that during the dealings with Hansie Cronjé and Sanjay, Hansie was actually just keeping up this charade, I think that was the word he used. There was no real arrangement between them, but Hansie was basically just stringing Sanjay along, and you said yes, that was what you believed. Can you confirm that?

MR CASSIM: Yes.

MS BATOHI: Well, I can't understand that. In the light of the fact that in the first place you say you know nothing about what was going on, and in the second place you're present when there's talks about match forecasting and team selections, and number of runs and batting order, and who is going to be bowling and then there's money handed over, in the light of your evidence that you really didn't know what was going on, why do you say Hansie was just conducting this charade? Why do you say that? On what basis do you say that?

MR CASSIM: Rephrase that question again, please, Adv Batohi.

MS BATOHI: You were lead by your counsel, and he put it to you that as far as you knew the dealings between Sanjay and Mr Cronjé, it was just a charade. Mr Cronjé basically wasn't serious, he was stringing him along, so to speak. And you agreed, you said yes, that was your understanding of their arrangement. Now how could you say that? How could you agree when on your own evidence you had no idea of what was going on between them?

MR CASSIM: That's what I read in the newspapers.

MS BATOHI: I'm not interested in what you read in the newspapers about Mr Cronjé. This was asked about what you believed what was happening. Your counsel led you on it. And I remember particularly he used the word charade, and giving the impression that Cronjé was just not serious, he was just stringing him along. And you said yes to that. Now my question is how could you possibly say that Mr Cronjé was just conducting this charade, when you say you don't even know what was going on?

MR CASSIM: I definitely do not know what was going on, but from what I gathered that is what - that's what Cronjé was doing.

MS BATOHI: It was not from what you gathered. It was your opinion on the basis of what you knew had happened. Now you said as far as you were concerned it was just a charade, to use your counsel's words, between Mr Cronjé. What did you mean by that? You had no idea what was going on. They could have been fixing matches and doing all sorts of deals. Would you have known about that?

MR CASSIM: No.

MS BATOHI: How then can you say categorically that as far as you were concerned it was this charade. How can you say that when you didn't know?

MR CASSIM: I just presumed so.

COMMISSIONER: Actually, the note that I have reflects that Mr Cassim didn't say yes, categorically. He answered, 'I think so', when it was put to him by his counsel that Cronjé was indulging in a charade. He answered affirmatively, not quite categorically.

MS BATOHI: Thank you, Mr Commissioner. I don't have a full note on that. You see, that is what I'm putting to you. You were saying in your evidence that you believed that there was this charade between Mr Cronjé and Mr Chawla. That is what you believed was happening. Now my question to you is how could you have believed this on the basis of what you knew about what was taking place? How could you believe this when you say you didn't even know what was happening?

MR CASSIM: That's only after I read it in the newspapers.

MS BATOHI: What has the newspapers got to do with what you believed in? The question to you was what did you think was going on, did you think it was a charade, and you said, 'Yes'. Can you comment on that?

MR CASSIM: From what I gather, I think Hansie was stringing Sanjay along.

MS BATOHI: Well, that's exactly it, Mr Cassim. Why do you think that? On your - what did you know about this relationship to make you think that Mr Cronjé was stringing him along?

MR CASSIM: I didn't know much about this relationship.

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