The sound of a door closing ended businessman Glenn Agliotti’s five-minute appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Agliotti (49) was arrested by the Scorpions at his home in Bryanston, Johannesburg, in a dawn raid for murder and conspiracy to murder in the high-profile case of mining magnate Brett Kebble.
The thickset, grey-haired businessman stood calmly in the dock, dressed neatly in an open-neck, purple striped shirt, holding his hands in front of his body.
The only words that the packed court heard were a quiet ”Yes, sir,” as Agliotti replied to a question by magistrate Lucas van der Schyff about knowing Agliotti from a previous case.
Agliotti gave a gentle bow as a police officer led him down to the holding cells and a door was heard slamming behind him.
He will be held at the Sandton police station until December 8, when he will apply for bail.
The arrest of Agliotti is one leg of an ongoing probe into organised crime, the Scorpions said on Thursday.
”There will be more arrests which would be best dealt with in a cooperative relationship between the Directorate of Special Operations [DSO] and the South African Police Service [SAPS],” DSO spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said in a statement.
”Agliotti was identified by the DSO as a role player in the Alberton drug bust earlier this year,” said Nkosi. ”Communication between the DSO and the detective service of SAPS last night [Wednesday] and earlier this morning shed light on the status of the SAPS investigation.”
The SAPS has given its full cooperation and has dedicated two investigators to the DSO. ”This was done so that the two agencies could ensure a dedicated and focused approach of the ongoing murder investigation as well as prosecution,” Nkosi said.
Nkosi would not comment on reports that three other people had been taken in for questioning about the murder. ”We don’t comment on such detail,” he said.
A report that the police were searching for three more people — two Russian nationals and another Johannesburg businessman — could also not be confirmed.
Selebi
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Johnny de Lange said at a news conference that the arrest of Agliotti clearly shows police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi ”in a good light”.
He and his principal, Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla, were asked at Parliament whether, given the breakthrough in the Kebble murder case, they were prepared to comment and whether it ”put a cloud” over the national commissioner — who has publicly acknowledged that Agliotti is a friend.
Mabandla said she expected Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula to make a statement later on Thursday. It was expected that this statement would be made in the National Assembly, although this was not yet clear.
The Scorpions in September raided premises belonging to Agliotti, whom they have identified as ”the Landlord”, a kingpin in a major drugs and contraband cigarette syndicate.
The raid has placed Palto, a murky security company that freelanced for the police, in the spotlight.
The search warrant lists Agliotti as a suspect alongside members of Palto, as well as senior police officials who were Palto’s contacts at police headquarters.
Allegations that Palto served as a cover for a crime syndicate remain unproven, but available evidence serves to reinforce the suspicion that the contraband syndicate was improperly linked to police at the highest levels.
Selebi, who has tried to downplay his friendship with Agliotti after initially saying that Agliotti was ”my friend, finish and klaar”, allegedly was close to Palto too.
Kebble was gunned down in Melrose, Johannesburg, in September 2005. He had just visited Matodzi Resources boss Sello Rasithaba, it was reported at the time.
Mabandla said on Thursday that ”the minister and Department of Safety and Security will be making a statement … they should if they feel it warrants a comment”.
She said all she could do was repeat what the minister had said in the past. ”You know at the moment there is not any investigation against the commissioner … that I know of … and that indeed if people feel that they have information they should come forward. I am repeating what the minister of safety and security said in the past.”
Asked about a story that was run about the commissioner removing Judge Willem Heath from the Kebble investigation and other forensic experts, De Lange simply said that if there was such information this should be provided to the police.
Media reports said earlier this month that former Airports Company South Africa security head Paul O’Sullivan had confirmed that he was a source of a 700-page document that alleged that Selebi had close links with crime bosses.
O’Sullivan said he had handed the document over to the Scorpions in March this year after an unsuccessful six-year battle to have Selebi investigated by the Independent Complaints Directorate. — I-Net Bridge, Sapa