Former police national commissioner Jackie Selebi called his ex-friend and convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti twice on his cellphone the day after mining magnate Brett Kebble was shot dead in Johannesburg in 2005.
This was revealed in the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday afternoon as the state wrapped up the evidence of Agliotti, the state’s first witness.
Agliotti testified earlier in the day that Selebi had called him on the day after Kebble’s murder in September 2005 to ask for money.
During cross-examination, Selebi’s advocate, Jaap Cilliers, put it to Agliotti that Selebi denied having asked his ex-friend for money. Selebi also denied that he called Agliotti on that day, but was then showed Agliotti’s telephone records by the state.
These indicated that Selebi called Agliotti at 11.15am and 2.21pm on September 28 2005 — the day after Kebble was allegedly killed in an ”assisted suicide” for which he paid.
Agliotti is the only person facing trial for Kebble’s murder after the state entered plea bargains with the mining boss’s three assassins — Mikey Schultz, Faizel Smith and Nigel McGurk.
Earlier in the day, Agliotti told the court he would plead ”not guilty” to the murder charge.
According to Agliotti, he visited the Selby office of Kebble’s former security boss, Clint Nassif, on the morning after Kebble’s death and then went to the mortuary to identify Kebble’s body.
”It was a very traumatic stage, I’d been on the phone the night before, the night when the late Mr Kebble was murdered, or call it what you want. I spoke to his [Brett Kebble’s] family and father, Roger. It was very traumatic.
”The following day I identified the body after I went to CNSG [Nassif’s company]. I can’t say exactly when did I give the accused money, on that specific day or the next day,” Agliotti said in response to questions from Cilliers over when he allegedly paid Selebi.
According to Agliotti, Selebi called him to ask for money while he was travelling in his car, but he can’t remember when he handed the cash over.
Agliotti was excused after spending eleven days in the witness box. The state has indicated that Agliotti’s former fiancée, Dianne Muller, would be their next witness.
Agliotti testified that Muller was a witness to one occasion when Selebi allegedly collected an envelope with R120 000 cash from their company’s Midrand office.
After a day characterised by ”acrimonious” interactions between Cilliers and chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, Judge Meyer Joffe asked the two jurists to meet afterwards and discussed a way forward.
”You are both seasoned practitioners. I don’t need to tell you this,” a visibly annoyed Joffe remarked.