Mbeki justifies stance on Selebi

Mbeki's actions in the Selebi matter have been defended by his legal adviser Mojanku Gumbi. Gumbi is quoted in a report on the IoL site as saying Mbeki acted 'immediately' when he learned that the NPA was ready to proceed with action against Selebi. A letter written to Mbeki by suspended Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, in May 2007, contained detailed information about the allegations against Selebi. But on Saturday Mbeki denied that anyone had provided him with information indicating wrongdoing on Selebi's part. 'I have said this before, many times, that if there was anybody who has information that shows that National Commissioner Selebi has done wrong things I would act on it. Nobody did, nobody came to me,' Mbeki said. Gumbi stressed that while the letter was sent in May last year it only contained allegations. 'The report was sent to the President to ask for assistance in investigations into allegations only.' There was nothing in the letter which said the NPA was ready to proceed with prosecution. The President could not act on allegations only, she said. Full report on the IoL site

Gumbi says Mbeki received a call at 3am from acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe implying that Selebi, a guest at his New Year Eve's party, might be a crook. Gumbi said that it was only at that point in the drawn-out probe of Selebi's alleged links with organised crime that Mbeki could act against his police chief. Gumbi insisted that the President had been actively assisting the NPA with access to information since the NPA approached Mbeki, according to the Pretoria News. 'The President received the report and assisted, making sure that everyone in the office co-operated and got whatever they needed,' she said. According to Gumbi, Mbeki took action on 1 January to activate the 'government machinery' and find a suitable replacement for Selebi. Mbeki also met with police management, Ministers in the security cluster and Selebi himself - in the days that followed to 'manage' the police chief's exodus. Full Pretoria News report

The former head of security at OR Tambo International Airport Paul O'Sullivan says the charges brought against Selebi are long overdue. O'Sullivan says that while he was working for the airport he discovered that the airport was being run by a 'criminal syndicate'. 'Employees of ACSA ... all had their fingers in the pie, with a corrupt little net,' said O' Sullivan during a radio interview. According to SABC News, he said the corrupt net included a contract firm which was required to be responsible for security at all the airports in SA. He says he undertook a decision to fire the contractors responsible for safety at the airport. 'I was not aware of the fact that the CE of the company ... had paid some senior executives at Acsa and was best friends with Jackie Selebi,' he said. He says within days after he had fired the contractors, he had police following him around, his bank statements were submitted to certain newspapers and he was later fired from his job. 'Selebi was able to get the chief executive at Acsa to go along with his dirty tricks campaign and effectively remove me.' Full SABC News report

There have been calls for a probe into Nel's arrest. In a bid to end the 'dirty turf war' between the Scorpions and the police, and to find out who ordered the warrant to be served and why, the DA has asked the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) to investigate the arrest of Nel after charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice were withdrawn against him this week. In a letter to the acting executive director of the ICD, Patrick Mongwe, it said it was of 'national significance' that the incident be thoroughly investigated. According to a report on the IoL site, the DA also said it appeared as if the police wanted to show the Scorpions who was in control. 'Sending in 20 armed SAPS members could serve no other purpose. Nel's appearance in court could have been secured through a simple phone call, thus treating him with the respect he was due,' DA spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard said. She said the ICD should establish who ordered the warrant to be served and why. Full report on the IoL site

The DA also says it will submit parliamentary questions to Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula on the arrest, notes a report on the IoL site. Nel was leading the investigation against Selebi, who has also quit as head of Interpol. DA safety and security spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said that some of the questions the Minister would be asked were: What was the line of authority with regard to the arrest of Nel, who made the decision to move against him; did the SA Police Service follow procedure by arresting an NPA prosecutor without informing the acting National Director of Public Prosecutions; and what decision-making role did Selebi play in the arrest of Nel? Full report on the IoL site

Selebi's legal team is waiting for a date for a hearing for his application to stop the investigation against him. 'The Judge President must provide a date for a full Bench,' said Selebi's Advocate Jaap Cilliers in a Mail & Guardian Online report. NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said the options were either to go ahead with the Selebi matter regardless of Selebi's outstanding application, or to wait for the court to pronounce on Selebi's pending application. The NPA has said it would let Selebi know when it planned to make a move. 'He will not be cuffed,' said Tlali. Full Mail & Guardian Online report

Selebi's court bid backfired because it forced the NPA's hand on his prosecution for corruption, which includes allegations that he took money from alleged Mafia kingpin Glenn Agliotti, fugitive Billy Rautenbach and slain mining magnate Brett Kebble. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, Judge Nico Coetzee said Selebi's application bore no merit and it was struck off the roll. He said that the administration of justice would be brought into disrepute if Selebi was not prosecuted. Selebi's lawyer, Advocate Jaap Cilliers, had described the charges against Selebi as being 'very vague allegations'. He told the court the decision to prosecute Selebi was unlawful and would further tarnish his reputation, to which Coetzee replied: 'His reputation is tarnished already.' In an answering affidavit, Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe said the charges relate to Selebi's relationship with murder accused Agliotti and payments by Agliotti of more than R1.2m to Selebi in 2004 and 2005. The charges are based on Selebi turning a blind eye to Agliotti's involvement in transporting a large quantity of Mandrax; interventions Selebi made on behalf of Agliotti; and confidential intelligence reports released from British authorities relating to drug-trafficking activities of Agliotti. The NPA said Selebi tipped Agliotti off that he had been identified in the course of the Brett Kebble murder investigation. Full Mail & Guardian Online report

Selebi denies having engaged in any criminal activities and says the case against him is a result of the Scorpions fighting for its survival following the ANC decision that the investigating arm be merged with the police while the prosecutions remain with the NPA. According to a City Press report he has accused Scorpions' boss, Leonard McCarthy, of being controlled by former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka, who he claims has a vendetta against him. Ngcuka has denied the claim. Full City Press report