NAWAAL DEANE and MUNGO SOGGOT, Johannesburg | Friday
NATIONAL Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi has denied he fled the scene of the Ellis Park soccer stampede, amid allegations from other police officers that, after attending as a spectator, he abandoned the stadium and only returned later in a police helicopter.
Selebi says he played a key role in organising the police effort on the night.
Other policemen present said Selebi quit the scene and then returned much later in a helicopter, berating them for their handling of the situation. He chided them for not being more active and leaving the management of the crisis to private security personnel on the grounds.
Selebi says he could not reach the pitch from his box in the stand. He says he called for reinforcements, but realised that they would struggle to get through the traffic, and so instructed police commissioners to send helicopters.
Selebi says he was then contacted about a possible second stampede developing at the nearby Ellis Park station, after which he drove away from the stadium to a nearby helicopter landing pad. Then, he says, he hovered in the helicopter above the station, and then returned to the stadium at about 11pm, landing on the pitch. Selebi says he had felt comfortable about leaving to hover over the station because the situation was being managed at the stadium.
There is no way I could chicken out from this situation. I was one of the last people to leave the stadium. I knew I was coming back to the stadium. If I was running away, I would have gone home and put myself to bed, Selebi says.
According to Metrorail, no problems were reported at the Ellis Park train station. An employee said Metrorail even managed to provide free transport to the spectators who were coming from Ellis Park Stadium.
Asked whether Metrorail had reported to the police a possible stampede, a Metrorail representative declined to answer any further questions.
Minister of Safety and Security Steve Tshwete last week gave Selebi and other senior managers from the South African Police Services awards for their outstanding service.
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