NEWS
SCHEDULES
COLUMNS
PREVIOUS TOURS
OTHER SPORTS
STATISTICS
INTERVIEWS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Cassim's June 26 testimony

MR WITZ: Now I think probably one of the most important aspects dealing with this commission is your relationship with Mr Hansie Cronjé, previously the captain of the South African cricket side. I'd like you to just explain to the Commissioner, dealing in particular with paragraph 7 of your statement, how you came to meet Mr Cronjé and what relationship you built up with him.

MR CASSIM: MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MR HANSIE CRONJé 7.1 I was first introduced to and met Mr Cronjé in about 1993 when he was playing for South Africa in the Hero Cup. 7.2 I thereafter me him on diverse occasions when the South African cricket team were playing. 7.3 I became friendly with Mr Cronjé in about 1996 when I was invited to the Sharjah cup which was being played in Dubai where South Africa were participating. 7.4 I had given Mr Cronjé my mobile number and he had also given me his mobile number. 7.5 I would say that a lot of the South African cricket team had my mobile number and I also had their mobile numbers. 7.6 There was a regular contact between myself and all the players. This was based purely on a friendship and mutual respect basis.

MR WITZ: Now Mr Cassim I just want to interrupt you there because we've been given a very, very impressive list of phone calls, and I think this might now be the appropriate time to deal with the phone calls. You have a copy which was provided to you by Adv Batohi and her investigating team. It's a diagram, together with many, many pages of phone calls that have been made. I would like you to turn to the diagram.

Mr Commissioner you will see this is not in the statement. This is a document that recently became available and we would like this opportunity just to deal with it. I'd like Mr Cassim to explain to the Commission what this depicts, what this is about, because I think this might be of some importance to the Commission. Do you have the document in front of you Mr Cassim? MR CASSIM: Yes.

MR WITZ: Now what I would like you to do, and I'd like you to leave Mr Cronjé for last because we will go back and deal with Mr Cronjé and your phone calls to him. There's a separate list that's been provided. I'd like you to just briefly take the Commission through and explain what is your nature, what are these phone calls about and what happened in the course of these phone calls and deal with each of the players that are depicted in the diagrams that you spoke to or phoned you back, please.

MR CASSIM: It's my nature to phone all the players at all times. Whenever I take my cellphone out and when I scroll to it I will see Paul Adams name, I will call him - "Hey Paul, wat doen jy? Hoe's Kaap?" So that was really my relationship I had with Paul Adams. Fanie and I had a very good relationship. I could call him any time and he would call me. It's just that I tried to keep in contact with all the players. With Daryll the same likewise. I could just call all these players and speak to them whenever I wanted to. I felt it was an honour to be in contact with these players. MR WITZ: Right. I'd like you to just continue and go through this list of all the various players that are depicted there and then I will deal with further aspects.

COMMISSIONER: Before you do that, I just want to know Ms Batohi, on this list where it says "no name defined", does it follow from that that those particular calls don't appear in the first page depiction or do they?

MS BATOHI: No Mr Commissioner. All it means is that there is no name of the tower or the beacon, it just didn't come up. So we are not sure where the call was made from.

COMMISSIONER: But you know to whom the call was made?

MS BATOHI: Yes that's correct.

COMMISSIONER: Thank you.

MR WITZ: Thank you. Mr Cassim I would like you to just proceed and continue and I would like you to go through one-by-one and tell the Commissioner what these calls were about, who you spoke to, who speaks back to you in the South African cricket team, because I see it goes from the physiotherapist to the management, to Mr Rajah. Tell us briefly what is this all about?. What is your passion and love for the phone and speaking to the cricket players and the management.

MR CASSIM: I used to call - let's start off with Daryll Cullinan. If I needed any tickets for the match I would call Daryll. He would call me back, "Hamid, I've got this or that". Goolam Rajah I used to practically - because I used to have a lot of my friends pestering me for tickets. I would call Goolam, "please give me a ticket or two". "I will do that". With Jonty Rhodes, likewise. Herschelle as well, Kallis. Lance Klusener, Lance Klusener I never had to send him anything, biltong, they were probably staying in Johannesburg I would arrange a music system for him, they can listen to music in their room. It's just my nature. When I've got the phone it's just my nature to phone all these players.

MR WITZ: Now Mr Cassim I've seen Mr Pollock also received certain calls from you, the present captain of the South African cricket team and you've mentioned all the other players etc. Now there's been some mention in this Commission, as I understand, about a music system or a CD player or a video player, video machine. I think Mr Hudson's name was mentioned, as well as Mr Cullinan. Just tell the Commissioner very, very briefly what is this about, what was all this about.

MR CASSIM: Regarding Mr Hudson I think they broke into his - he had a burglary at home and I was talking to him, I said Andrew I will arrange a video machine for you. Lance Klusener wanted a walkman. I said I will arrange it for you at cost plus 5 or 10%. I can't recall what was the percentage mark-up. For Brian MacMillan as well. I mean I got him a video machine at cost plus 10%.

MR WITZ: Then what did you expect in return for doing this, for arranging them cost plus, obviously a few percent profit to yourself, what was the purpose of this?

MR CASSIM: The purpose was to build a good relationship with the players.

MR WITZ: Now I am going to turn back to the phone calls at a later stage. I'd like to just take you back to your statement to page 10, and I'd like you to deal there in particular, turning again to Mr Cronjé at paragraph 7.7. Just explain who this famous Indian actress is, what she was doing in South Africa and what happened between yourself, herself and Mr Cronjé, please.

MR CASSIM: Yes.

Click here for more....