Mulangi Mphego left, with the SAPS’s legal head Pikkie van Vuuren at the Ginwala hearings. Photo: Lisa Skinner
The battle between the Scorpions and the police over the investigation of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi ratcheted up on Thursday with the arrest of police crime intelligence boss Mulangi Mphego.
Assistant Commissioner Mphego appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on charges of defeating the ends of justice. Scorpions spokesman Tlali Tlali confirmed that the charges relate to Mphego’s role in an apparent bid to ”turn” the Scorpions’ most crucial and controversial witness against Selebi: Glenn Agliotti.
It was Mphego, with National Intelligence Agency boss Manala Manzini, who was involved in the extraordinary process whereby an affidavit was obtained from Agliotti on January 4 last year at a secret meeting at Sandton’s Balalaika Hotel.
The affidavit, in which Agliotti denied he had bribed Selebi and claimed the Scorpions were waging a vendetta against the police chief, was faxed to Selebi’s advocate the next day. It formed the centrepiece of Selebi’s January 10 bid to indict the Scorpions from charging him.
Agliotti recanted his claims against the Scorpions in a later statement, explaining that he had been drinking before making the statement. He also claimed: ”Mr Manzini assured me that he was the most powerful man in the country and would take care of me — I wanted to align myself with him in an attempt to negotiate a better deal.”
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian shortly after his court appearance, Mphego said he had been contacted on Wednesday by the lead investigator in the Selebi case, Andrew Leask. ”He said they want to prefer charges of defeating the ends of justice — He said let’s meet in court.”
Mphego confirmed that the charges related to the procuring of the Agliotti affidavit as well a video taken by crime intelligence on January 7 last year in which Agliotti is understood to have repeated claims in his affidavit made three days earlier.
Mphego said he had not yet studied the documentation, but he understood the allegation to be that he had taken Agliotti’s statement, had provided it to Selebi and had also shown the video to the media.
”The only comment I can make at this stage is that I was not involved in the production of the Glenn Agliotti statement of the 4th. He came to us with the affidavit fully drawn up, but unsigned. Nor did I take that affidavit from the room when I left.”
Mphego was a key intermediary for Selebi and held meetings with both Agliotti and Australian fugitive John Stratton when both men were working for mining magnate Brett Kebble. Both Agliotti and Stratton are accused by the Scorpions of involvement in Kebble’s death.
Kebble’s murder eventually prompted the Scorpions investigation of Selebi after allegations that the police commissioner was interfering with the police investigation into the killing.
It is understood that the Scorpions are preparing a request to extradite Stratton from Australia following this week’s ruling by the Constitutional Court that South Africa’s extradition agreements were legal.
The Scorpions have also summonsed the police top brass to provide documents they need for the case against Selebi, but it appears the summonses will be resisted when the dispute goes to court on January 27. Mphego will appear again on March 3. Selebi’s next court appearance is on April 14.