Drug dealer Glenn Agliotti was a confident man on Friday morning, as he laughed and joked at a press conference in Johannesburg. It had been less than 24 hours since Agliotti was declared a free man, after charges against him for the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble were withdrawn in the South Gauteng High Court on Thursday.
He said he had no moral culpability in Kebble’s death, because he “had no role to play”. “I sleep very well at night,” he said.
He insisted there was a hidden agenda behind his prosecution. “I made it very clear that this was a political conspiracy,” he said. “I should never have been in the box … I think we have to focus on how this all originated. I’ve been called many things. I was painted this way by the DSO [Scorpions].
‘Plea-bargain deal’
He said he believed that Clinton Nassif, the former head of security for the Kebbles, was the man who should be tried for Kebble’s murder. “Nassif wanted to cut a 105 plea-bargain deal. It was clear.”
Agliotti said that he had not spoken to the Kebble family, and had no reason to apologise to them. A reporter then played a recorded question by Guy Kebble, Brett’s brother, asking why Agliotti had never bothered to make contact with the Kebbles, he responded: “My wife tried to contact Roger [Brett’s father] but it was clear they wanted nothing to do with me. Guy must ask himself how much he’s cost his father in botched business deals. Roger was fed a lot of misinformation by the Scorpions.”
He said that Guy Kebble had sat behind him in the courtroom, and had swore at him and made “defamatory statements” during the trial proceedings.
Agliotti also said he felt the state had not been properly prepared, while his defence had been. Obviously filled with self-pity, he asked: “where’s Paul Stemmet? Where’s Tamo Vink [Nassif’s attorney]? Everyone has a go at me but what about them?
He “invited” the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute him for corrupting former police national commissioner Jackie Selebi. Agliotti was not granted indemnity from prosecution in the trial that saw Selebi sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption. “I’m not at all stressed out,” he said. He added he had not spoken to Selebi since he had been incarcerated for a month in the Sandton police station cells in late 2008.
“I don’t believe he was handled in the right manner. There was a conspiracy. It was an absolute travesty of justice.”
This article was produced by amaBhungane, investigators of the M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism, a nonprofit initiative to enhance capacity for investigative journalism in the public interest. www.amabhungane.co.za.