‘Good Christian country’: Inside Paul O’Sullivan’s letter ‘pleading’ to move to SA during apartheid

Paul O’Sullivan testifies before Parliament’s ad hoc committee at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town on 10 February 2026. Picture: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach Fraud examiner Paul O’Sullivan came under scrutiny on Tuesday as members of Parliament’s ad hoc committee questioned his intentions for wanting to move to South Africa during the 1980s, when the country was under apartheid rule. O’Sullivan testified before the committee at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town as part of an inquiry probing alleged corruption, criminal infiltration and political interference within South Africa’s justice system.

Following the lunch break, evidence leader Norman Arendse questioned O’Sullivan about a letter dated 23 November 1982. The letter was addressed to SS Van Der Merwe, then director-general of the department of internal affairs under the apartheid government. It was written by a “Watterson”, believed to be Derrick Wilfried Watterson, who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for the New Republic Party in the 1980s.

Arendse indicated that the letter referred to O’Sullivan’s desire to settle in South Africa. O’Sullivan earlier told the committee that he holds Irish-British citizenship and moved to South Africa in 1989 after obtaining permanent residency. He applied for South African citizenship in 1994 and received it the following year.

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He explained he had first visited the country as a “tourist” in the 1970s, returning once or twice a year for holidays. He later invested in property and eventually moved permanently, citing his love for the country, the weather, and the people he met.

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