A third secret video was submitted to the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday — this time of drug lord Glenn Agliotti speaking to crime intelligence boss Mulangi Mphego in his Pretoria office in 2003.
Courtroom 4B was again converted into a cinema, specialising in conspiracy and suspense, as defence counsel Jaap Cilliers presented the video.
Agliotti referred to the meeting during his evidence-in-chief, telling Judge Meyer Joffe that Mphego called him to ask him about the $1-million he allegedly received from the Kebble family in exchange for access to Selebi.
But the video reveals much more than the discussion about Selebi.
In the video Agliotti alleges a plot by former prosecutions boss Bulelani Ngcuka and businessman Mzi Khumalo to bring down the Kebble-owned JCI group and sabotage their mining acquisitions.
During the discussion about Selebi, Mphego told Agliotti he monitored phones and heard about the allegation that Selebi was about to receive money from the Kebbles.
”Glenn, we listen to everything and we see everything … I need to talk to you about this,” Mphego is heard saying in the video. ”This one point something million, you are saying on the [recording] that it’s for nascom [national commissioner Selebi].”
Agliotti replies: ”It’s nothing to do with nascom, it’s for me.”
”My world is very simple,” says Mphego. ”I’m not going to beat around the bush: Why would the name of nascom be dropped in the footage?”
Agliotti’s response was that he was consulting for JCI. ”I used Jackie’s name at the beginning,” he said. ”But when they wanted to meet Jackie, I said no. Now when we talk I say ‘What’s happening Jacks?’, and we talk purely friendship things.”
During his evidence-in-chief, Agliotti testified he had lied to Mphego because he didn’t want him to know Selebi was on his payroll.
In the video Agliotti also claims that he was asked by the Kebbles to speak to fraud convict Schabir Shaik, who was then President Jacob Zuma’s financial adviser. ”They wanted me to ask him [Shaik] what he has on Bulelani … The Kebbles are very big in cash, they want to go into Africa because they believe in Africa. They wanted to take over DRD Mining.”
Agliotti then tells Mphego about an alleged lunch he had with Ngcuka, after meeting him on an aeroplane.
At the lunch, Ngcuka allegedly introduced Agliotti to a ”cousin or brother” of former environmental affairs and tourism minister Valli Moosa. Moosa’s relative allegedly told Agliotti over the lunch that he should do a deal with Chinese companies in the mining industry.
”I know a lot of people, so he said to me if I ever can do a deal with the Chinese for mining … bring them, I can set it up … I can get them mining rights, I can get them this, I can get them that.”
Agliotti then told Mphego the Kebbles believed Ngcuka was going to leave the Scorpions and go into private business with a mining group involving Khumalo.
”He [Ngcuka] can then use his influence over his wife [Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was minister of minerals and energy at the time],” Agliotti is heard saying.
The two parted ways with what appeared to be little short of an embrace, Agliotti saying: ”I love you Mpegs”.
The trial continues.