Selebi to step down

South African police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi will step down temporarily until the outcome of a trial on expected corruption charges, Talk Radio 702 reported on Saturday.

Prosecutors said on Friday they will charge Selebi, also president of international police body Interpol, with corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering.

Talk Radio 702, citing unnamed people in Selebi’s office, said the police chief will not return to work until the trial against him had been concluded.

Selebi’s spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Selebi had informed President Thabo Mbeki about his decision on Friday night. Mbeki will hold a press conference in Pretoria later on Saturday to discuss the matter.

Real evidence

A judge ruled that the administration of justice would be brought into disrepute if Selebi was not prosecuted, delivering another embarrassing blow to the African National Congress after its new leader, Jacob Zuma, was charged a fortnight ago with bribery, fraud, racketeering, money laundering and tax evasion.

The acting national director of public prosecutions, Mokotedi Mpshe, said Selebi would be indicted but did not say when.

“The charges against him are based on a strong prima facie case supported by the testimony of a range of witnesses and corroborated by real evidence,” he said.

The charges allege that Selebi accepted at least R1,2-million from Glen Agliotti, a convicted drug trafficker who is awaiting trial accused of murdering corrupt mining magnate, Brett Kebble.

Selebi is alleged to have helped protect drug shipments into South Africa by “turning a blinding eye”.

According to the indictment, he also passed on to Agliotti confidential United Kingdom intelligence reports about his trafficking. Selebi has vigorously denied the accusations.

Agliotti, nicknamed “the landlord” for his extensive role in the narcotics trade, last month pleaded guilty to smuggling two tonnes of Pakistani hashish into the country under a plea bargain that saw him receive a suspended 10-year prison sentence and a fine in return for agreeing to be a witness against drug syndicates.

It is not clear if he has also agreed to testify against Selebi.

Agliotti is also accused of murder over the death of Kebble, who was shot six times in his Mercedes in 2005 by assassins. Kebble is believed to have stolen millions of rands from his mining companies and had close ties to criminal syndicates.

The charges allege that Selebi tipped off Agliotti that he was being investigated and gave him information about the case.

Scrutiny of their relationship began after it was revealed that within minutes of Kebble’s death Agliotti called Selebi on his cellphone.

Further questions arose when it was revealed that the police handed over the dead man’s car to a friend of Agliotti’s before forensic tests could be done. The car was then cleaned, destroying crucial evidence. Although Selebi described Agliotti as no more than an acquaintance, the drug trafficker’s diary reveals they had regular meetings.

Among the other evidence used by prosecutors is a 144-page dossier submitted by Paul O’Sullivan, a former British military intelligence agent who headed security at SA airports. It describes “a massive criminal syndicate, with tentacles into and out of Selebi’s office” and accuses Selebi of “wining and dining the Mafia set” and of protecting criminal interests.

In his court application Selebi claimed there was a “scandalous plot” against him, an accusation that has resonance in the ANC, which is trying to assert political control over the Scorpions, which has targeted Selebi, Zuma and other senior party figures.

‘Victory for the rule of law’

The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) came out in support of the court’s decision, saying that it was a “significant victory for the rule of law”.

The party’s justice spokesperson Frik van Heerden said it was an “irony” that Selebi had “dared” to approach the court to prevent his own arrest and prosecution.

This, only a few days after a task force of more than 20 police officers arrested “respected” Gauteng Scorpions head Gerrie Nel.

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) called on Mbeki to suspend Selebi immediately.

“This action is not only crucial in light of the high rate of crime in South Africa and the implications for SAPS [South African Police Service] morale; the matter of Selebi’s suspension and fitness is of world interest,” said ACDP spokesperson Kenneth Meshoe.

“It is an embarrassment with the commissioner being the present head of Interpol and with the world spotlight being upon security in light of [the Soccer World Cup in] 2010,” he said.

The DA said silence on the part of both Mbeki and Charles Nqakula, the Minister of Safety and Security, in relation to Selebi’s application, had been “deafening”.

DA spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard said: “The NPA’s refusal to bow down before political heavyweights restores the public’s faith in the impartiality of the criminal justice system.”

The leader of the Independent Democrats, Patricia de Lille, said: “I am satisfied that the NPA has finally made public their decision to charge the national commissioner.

“It is just unfortunate that it has taken a court challenge such as this for the NPA to make their decision known to the public.”