/ 27 January 2009

New deadline for police to give evidence in Selebi case

The police have until February 17 to comply with subpoenas instructing them to hand evidence to the Scorpions for their prosecution of suspended police chief Jackie Selebi, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.

Subpoenas were issued to secure the evidence, with Tuesday January 27 as the deadline, said Tlali Tlali, spokesperson for the NPA, under whose command the Scorpions currently fall.

However, this was extended to the February date, after an agreement reached at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning.

Tlali said: ”There has to be an assessment of information exchanged [to see] whether there has been absolute or non-compliance.”

The NPA recently served subpoenas on the police in terms of Section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Act for the purposes of ”finalising outstanding aspects of the investigation”.

”The subpoenas relate to persons from whom cooperation is sought, and they have been served on them,” read a press release relating to media reports on the matter.

Section 205 can compel a person to provide information sought during an investigation.

Selebi appeared in the same court last year in the course of an investigation into corruption, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

His trial would start in the Johannesburg High Court in April.

An inquiry last year into the suspension of NPA head Vusi Pikoli was told that the NPA was struggling to gather the evidence it needed to pursue their case against Selebi.

The SABC reported that acting police crime intelligence head Mulani Mphego and the Scorpions met behind closed doors at the court.

Last week, Mphego appeared in the same court on charges of defeating the ends of justice. He is accused of being involved in the production of an affidavit by drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti that absolved Selebi. — Sapa