Johannesburg - Former Transnet treasurer Mathane Makgatho feared for her life while still employed by the state-owned freight and rail transport company during Brian Molefe and Anoj Singh’s tenures as chief executive and chief financial officer, respectively.
Makgatho, who held the position between March 2013 to November 2014, told the commission of inquiry into state capture that her opposition to dodgy deals at Transnet created a toxic work environment and endangered her life.
She said what completely paralysed her were claims that the Taiwanese mafia was involved in some of the deals.
In some of the meetings, Makgatho said, there was a Taiwanese woman.
"I felt that I was no longer safe, I feared I would be harmed,” she said.
She believed her phones were bugged and her movements were being monitored.
According to Makgatho, she also heard that Gupta associate Salim Essa was in a meeting where she was discussed and identified as a stumbling block.
She said she did not know what that meeting resolved.
Makgatho said the toxic environment got so bad that if she opened a bottle of water and for some reason turned around she would not drink the water.
“I was afraid I would be poisoned … my car was tampered with,” she said.
Makgatho said there were so many fights that swear words became the order of the day.
"In as much as I loved my job, there was just this environment Singh created for Transnet treasury and Molefe turned a blind eye,” she said.
Makgatho, a mother of four young kids, said she decided to leave because was not prepared to play super woman.
She said someone even suggested that she meets with an ANC top six official but the meeting never materialised.