/ 23 November 2009

Selebi did give Agliotti documents, court hears

Jackie Selebi’s advocate admitted for the first time on Monday that the former top cop showed drug dealer Glenn Agliotti documents “he [Agliotti] had to present to his legal representatives”.

Selebi is being charged with corruption and defeating the ends of justice, which includes him showing Agliotti secret British intelligence reports and other documentation that implicates Agliotti in crime.

One such document is an email sent by security expert Paul O’Sullivan to former Scorpion Robyn Plitt in 2006, detailing information gathered from a source who allegedly worked for the Kebble family’s former head of security, Clinton Nassif.

The Scorpions’ investigating officer, Andrew Leask, testified on Monday that he met O’Sullivan in 2006, who introduced him to state witness Anthony Dormehl. O’Sullivan is the former head of security at OR Tambo International Airport.

“Mr O’Sullivan insisted that he take charge of Dormehl, that we could only speak to Dormehl through him. He was further quite insistent of the way we should conduct our operation.

“At that stage it got to a point where I excused the rest of the people and myself and O’Sullivan had a discussion. I told him that I never had a private individual advise and instruct me on how to do my work.

“I said he should know his place. I had no objection with him passing on information, but we had to set the record straight in terms of his involvement here. Mr O’Sullivan played no role in our investigation subsequently.”

During cross-examination, Selebi’s counsel, Jaap Cilliers, put it to Leask that Selebi obtained the so-called “O’Sullivan dossier” from journalists at a 2006 press conference during which Selebi was asked questions about his alleged corrupt relationship with Agliotti.

The “dossier”, Cilliers said, contained the email to Plitt.

Leask categorically denied that the email formed part of O’Sullivan’s “dossier”.

Cilliers then said: “The accused indeed handed some documents obtained in this way [through the media] to Agliotti, to present to his legal representatives during mid-2006 — I can’t remember what he gave, but he did show Agliotti some of it.”

Police crime intelligence boss Mark Hankel earlier testified that the fax number at the top of the printed email Selebi allegedly showed Agliotti was that of Selebi’s office at police headquarters.