President Thabo Mbeki told religious leaders on Monday to trust what he had done regarding the controversy around police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi — and they did.
This was after the religious leaders had suggested a commission of inquiry into the relationship between South Africa’s top cop and businessman Glenn Agliotti, who was arrested last week for the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble.
At a media conference at the Union Buildings, Ashwin Trikanjee, co-chairperson of the Religious Leaders’ Forum, said Mbeki told the forum he had no grounds to suspend Selebi on information he had received.
The president and the religious delegation issued a joint statement following a morning meeting.
Trikanjee told reporters that Mbeki had assured them he had done what he could as president. ”The president said, ‘Trust me, be assured I will take action if anything has been done wrong.”’
He said he had found the president’s message convincing. ”If the president says ‘Trust me,’ am I going to question him?” Trikanjee said.
Trikanjee added the president did not want Selebi to be tried by the media. He said that if anybody had information to help deal with the matter in any other way, they should come forward. ”But with the information he [Mbeki] had at his disposal, he found no reason [to suspend Selebi].”
Selebi had been present at the meeting but did not engage in the dialogue with the religious representatives, said Trikanjee.
Also present were the ministers of safety and security, justice and defence, and their deputies.
Twists
The pending arrest down under of another business associate of Kebble and the ruling African National Congress’s (ANC) unanimous support for Selebi added twists to the high-profile murder mystery at the weekend.
The splash of Sunday newspaper coverage — much of it attributed to unnamed sources — followed the arrest of Agliotti. Both Kebble and Selebi had been friends with Agliotti, who now has the media reputation of being known as the ”Landlord” in the drug and smuggling world; a divorcée after two wives dumped him for bigamy; and a police informer.
Sunday papers reported that, according to the police and the Scorpions, Agliotti had allegedly approached Kebble’s former security man, Clinton Nassif, to assist in an orchestrated assassination that would leave Kebble’s family with life-insurance payouts as he faced major debts.
However, the Afrikaans newspaper Rapport reported that, because Kebble apparently tried to escape the scene, it gave credit to a theory that he may have been killed in an illegal diamond-dealing trap.
Kebble, who was shot dead in his car in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs in September last year, had reportedly offered Agliotti R1,5-million to have the job done.
The Sunday Times reported that James Stratton, Kebble’s business associate, who is in Australia, had spoken to him two hours before he was gunned down. Stratton had blocked Kebble family investigator Judge Willem Heath from probing the security company of Nassif in connection with the murder.
The report read that ”an official close to the investigation” had told the Sunday Times that investigators were keen to question Stratton after receiving certain information from Nassif.
The opposition Democratic Alliance lashed out at the ANC on Sunday for not discussing the friendship between Selebi and Agliotti at its top-level meeting over the weekend.
The party’s safety and security spokesperson, Diane Kohler-Barnard, said Selebi could not remain in office while the investigation into Agliotti and the Kebble murder continued. — Sapa
You first read about it in the M&G
Over nearly six months, while it ran a series of articles about a crime syndicate associated with slain mining magnate Brett Kebble and police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi, the Mail & Guardian was a voice crying in the media wilderness. The arrest of Glenn Agliotti vindicates the M&G‘s multipart exposé:
May 26: Jackie Selebi’s shady Kebble links
The M&G revealed that Selebi was ”linked to shadowy figures” Agliotti and Clint Nassif, who worked with Kebble on security and other projects, and that it was ”highly likely” that the Scorpions were investigating this network and Selebi’s links to it. We also reported that Agliotti phoned Selebi soon after Kebble’s murder, and that Agliotti and Kebble had been in phone contact 24 hours earlier, when the latter was close to the murder scene. Agliotti and Selebi insisted there was nothing untoward about their call.
June 2: Commissioner did visit Kebble
We detailed Agliotti’s involvement in R18-million fraudulent cobalt deals and his life as a bigamist. We also confirmed Selebi visited Kebble’s home — despite his earlier denial.
July 14: Kebble link in huge drug bust
We reported the Scorpions’ arrest of five alleged syndicate members on charges of smuggling hashish and dagga worth up to R200-million, in a move linked to a wider investigation of Agliotti and his company. We also detailed a contraband tobacco deal involving some of the same actors, and how a crooked cop involved in the deal boasted of taking Selebi’s orders.
July 28: Arrests: Agliotti is next
We identified Agliotti as ”the Landlord”, described by the Scorpions in court as among ”the syndicate bosses who tend not to get their hands dirty, but manage their enterprises from a distance”. We also examined Agliotti and Selebi’s friendship — Selebi had originally described Agliotti as ”my friend, finish and klaar”, but was now backtracking.
August 4: ‘Landlord gave order to kidnap’
We further described Agliotti’s alleged involvement with the syndicate, including claims that he had a syndicate member locked in a container.
September 22: Scorpions raid Agliotti
We reported that the Scorpions had raided Agliotti’s home and business, and that the warrant indicated they were interested in the syndicate’s links with police and Palto, a shady undercover operation linked to Selebi that freelanced for police.
September 29: Selebi, Agliotti and the dirty cops
We expanded on Palto’s role and Selebi’s downplaying of his ties with Palto head Paul Stemmet.
October 27: Kebble’s security boss nabbed
We reported the arrest of Nassif, Agliotti’s friend and former Kebble security adviser, as part of the Scorpions’ larger investigation. We said ”Nassif’s arrest could blow the case wide open … he could turn state witness”.
November 3: Kebble murder: The noose tightens
We named the Scorpions’ investigation into the criminal network surrounding Kebble — project ”Bad Guys”. The investigation encompassed conspiracy to murder, (the Kebble) murder, corruption (Selebi’s alleged receipt of syndicate money, which he denies), drug trafficking and organised crime (including the July drug bust). We reported claims that Nassif interfered with the Kebble murder probe by moving Kebble’s car to a panel-beater and tried to get it cleaned.
November 10: Inside the Selebi dossier
We described how former airport security boss Paul O’Sullivan, on a mission to expose Selebi, contributed to the Scorpions probe. Selebi has accused O’Sullivan of engineering a ”smear” against him.
November 17: Kebble arrest: What now for Selebi?
The arrest of Agliotti on suspicion of murdering Kebble has opened perhaps the biggest can of worms in South Africa’s criminal history. The arrest could have grave implications for Selebi.