/ 20 April 2010

Selebi: ‘I would never share information with Scorpions’

Former police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi said on Tuesday he would never have given information to the disbanded Scorpions unit, even if it could have assisted in fighting crime.

Selebi reacted angrily to a barrage of questions from chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel about why he had never provided the Scorpions or former prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli — under which the Scorpions fell — with information about drug-lord Glenn Agliotti when he found out the Scorpions were investigating Agliotti.

After testifying during his evidence-in-chief that Agliotti was his “friend”, Selebi told the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday he only regarded Agliotti as a source.

Pikoli testified for the state that he had personally interviewed Selebi in his office when he heard allegations that he was being paid by Agliotti.

“Why didn’t you explain to Pikoli your relationship with Agliotti? That he was a registered informant?” Nel asked. Selebi replied that Agliotti had only been a registered police informant for a period of time.

‘I never had to run to Pikoli for anything’
“And by the way, there is no person like that [Pikoli] anymore.”

A visibly upset Nel turned around, took a deep breath and said: “I’m gonna let that slip. I’m not going to respond to that.”

Selebi then continued, saying: “In my whole life I was under no obligation to report to Pikoli on anything. I never had to run to Pikoli for anything.”

Asked by Nel whether it was not his duty as the main law enforcement office in the country to assist other agencies with information that could help their investigations, Selebi said: “I would never go to the Scorpions”.

Nel: “Because you didn’t like them?”

Selebi: “You use whatever words you want to use.”

Nel: “You decided not to give [information] to them because you didn’t like them?”

Selebi: “I would never share information with them in that kind of circumstances.”

Cross-examination continues.