Clinton Nassif had no number plates on his cars to avoid speeding fines.
This is what the former Kebble security boss told the South Gauteng High Court on day eight of the murder trial of mining magnate Brett Kebble, who was shot in 2005 in Melrose, Johannesburg.
Murder-accused Glenn Agliotti’s defence counsel, Laurance Hodes, spent the fourth day of Nassif’s cross-examination continuing trying to show that he is an unreliable witness.
Hodes also questioned Nassif on why he never registered a Porsche that he bought in London, worth £60 000.
“I would also love to avoid paying taxes,” said Hodes.
Nassif replied: “I don’t like the picture you’re trying to paint — that I avoided paying taxes and duties on my Porsche.”
The Porsche has never been registered in South Africa.
Hodes also told the court about a robbery at Nassif’s Central National Security group offices, where 12 firearms were stolen, and five recovered.
Here, Nassif admitted to owning an Uzi gun, which, too, was stolen. However, the employee of Nassif who allegedly committed the theft was never charged, and Nassif’s stolen gun was never reported.
“You played with the system as you wanted to,” said Hodes. “Here you have a man arrested, beaten up, put into custody, taken out of custody and you never reported your own firearm missing. Give me anything to prove that you reported your own Uzi missing — Five years later, and he [the employee] hasn’t been charged, you just left it.”
‘You covered it up’
Hodes also told Nassif that he protected his attorney, Tammo Vink, when Vink allegedly shot and assaulted his wife at Nassif’s house in Rivonia.
“To this day she admits to shooting herself,” said Nassif of Vink’s wife. “I was told she shot herself.”
Hodes replied: “And did she beat herself up with a baseball bat and the butt of a gun? … You knew that Mr Vink had assaulted her and shot her, but you covered it up. And you knew that he did it while under the influence of drugs.”
Nassif is the fifth witness in the murder trial of Kebble, which began last Monday.
Agliotti has pleaded not guilty to four charges — the murder of Kebble; the conspiracy to murder Kebble; the attempted murder of former Allan Gray chief investment officer Stephen Mildenhall; and conspiracy to murder Mildenhall and mining bosses Danie Nortier, Mark Bristow and Mark Wellesley-Wood.
The M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism, supported by M&G Media and the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, produced this story.www.amabhungane.co.za.