A team from the National Prosecuting Authority visited police national headquarters three weeks ago, seeking material that they thought might assist their investigation into the criminal syndicates surrounding Kebble murder accused Glenn Agliotti.
As the Mail & Guardian has previously reported, the Scorpions are interested in allegations linking Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi to networks involved in contraband smuggling, money laundering and a range of other crimes.
According to two sources sympathetic to Selebi, the investigators were allowed to review material related to the investigation but they were not permitted to take it with them.
‘The commissioner said he wouldn’t let them take it, because he didn’t want it to get handed to the mediaâ€, one person familiar with the circumstances said.
Beeld newspaper reported last Friday that Scorpions investigators had executed a search warrant at Selebi’s office, and seized documents and computer files.
NPA spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi at the time denied that a warrant had been obtained. Police spokesperson Sally de Beer went further, denying that there had been a search.
However, when the M&G put it to Lesufi in less specific terms that a member or members of the Scorpions had visited Selebi’s offices, and been handed material without executing a search as such, he did not deny it, saying only that he was unable to comment.
Exactly what took place at Selebi’s office has been the subject of rumour and conjecture since before May 9, when the Scorpions’ visit appears to have taken place.
The M&G reported on May 11 that the unit’s focus on Selebi was intensifying as new potential witnesses agreed to testify about his relationships with Agliotti, Kebble security boss Clinton Nassif, smuggler Imran Ismail, and others.
Sources familiar with the unfolding investigation also said at the time that NPA officials were preparing to apply for search warrants.
It now appears that the formal process of seeking high court approval for a search, and then carrying it out with the unit’s full authority may have been averted following political intervention to secure a compromise.
The M&G on Monday put to the presidency an account relayed to us by an investigator sympathetic to Selebi.
According to the investigator, Mbeki received a letter from National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli detailing the difficulties encountered by the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions) in obtaining cooperation from Selebi. The letter warned that unless the national commissioner was more forthcoming with information, it would be necessary to apply for a search warrant.
The investigator claims that on May 9 Mbeki called a meeting between Selebi and Pikoli at which DSO chief Leonard McCarthy was also present.
The M&G was not able independently to confirm this account.
Mbeki’s spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga said on Thursday he was not aware of any letter and that no meeting with Selebi and the NPA was reflected in the president’s diary. ‘I can confirm that no such meeting took place, nor is one contemplated,†he said.
De Beer also denied that such a meeting had taken place.
‘The M&G asked whether the national commissioner’s office was raided/searched or visited by a member of the DSO during May. The answer is no. With regard to [the] transfer of material from the national commissioner to the DSO during the course of May. This was discussed with the national commissioner. The answer is no.â€
Whether or not any meeting with Mbeki took place, it now seems clear that a contemplated Scorpions raid was averted by an agreement to let investigators study documents which are in Selebi’s possession, rather than ‘transferring†the material to them permanently.
The stakes in all this are very high.
In attempting late last year to prevent the M&G from publishing information about the probe into Selebi’s relationships with crime figures, McCarthy said in an affidavit this was ‘one of the most extensive, complex and sensitive investigations that the DSO has ever undertakenâ€.
He stated: ‘Some of the allegations that are being investigated include allegations of targeted corruption of senior law enforcement personnel; laundering of large amounts of local and foreign currency — smuggling of drugs — the large-scale [movement of] contraband and counterfeit goods — and the assassination of individuals —â€
As the M&G has previously reported, the Scorpions have been building the investigation around testimony from witnesses granted indemnity or offered reduced sentences in return for their testimony against more senior members of the syndicate.
These include the hitmen in the Kebble murder, Agliotti, Nassif and Paul Stemmet, who worked with Selebi as a police reservist while also doing business with Agliotti.