Former police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi spent R56 000 on one day at an upmarket clothing store in Sandton after he was elected president of Interpol.
“I had to keep up looks … One of the items I bought was a Brioni suit, it’s top of the range,” said Selebi in the South Gauteng High Court on Friday.
Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel cross-examined Selebi on his spending patterns at Grays, an upmarket boutique in Sandton City, owned by Nelson Mandela’s tailor Yusuf Surtee.
Dressed for success
Nel pointed out to Selebi that on September 29 2005 he had spent more than his entire monthly police salary at Grays. He made the R56 000 purchase on account.
Selebi said he had to buy new suits after being elected president of Interpol. Nel pointed out to him that this already happened in 2004. “I know, but this was before my first congress as president,” replied Selebi.
Nel then asked Selebi why he had not settled his account at Grays — for a period of twelve months — between 2004 and 2005. Selebi said he didn’t have the cash available.
Selebi however made a cash deposit of R25 000 to Grays on October 16 2005.
“Grays wrote to me and indicated the size of the debt I had. I decided to settle [my account] since I had foreign currency … I changed the euros I had to get cash and used local currency to pay them,” said Selebi.
Nel said he found it the “strangest thing” that Selebi would walk into Sandton City with a bag of R25 000 in cash when he could have made an electronic transfer from his cheque account or paid the account with his credit card.
‘A bank was not a place I liked going to often’
Selebi’s explanation: “A bank was not a place I liked going to often. It was not my favourite place to go. Rather than drawing money, I used forex to pay them.”
Nel put it to Selebi that he paid them in cash because he had R30 000 that drug-dealer Glenn Agliotti gave him shortly before.
“Agliotti never gave me money,” said Selebi.
Nel said it made perfect sense that Selebi would’ve used Agliotti’s cash to pay off his account at Grays.
Asked how Agliotti knew the size of his suits, Selebi said Agliotti didn’t know and was lying when he testified he [Agliotti] bought Selebi size 58 suits from Grays.
Nel however pointed out to Selebi that he bought size 58 suits on his own account at Grays. Selebi said that these could have been for his son since he had never worn size 58 suits.
According to Seleb, he wore a size 56 suite in 2005, but he later asked Nel: “How big is a 58?”
Cross-examination continues.