Judge slams prosecutors and frees Agliotti

'It is clear... that the DSO (Directorate of Special Operations - the now-defunct Scorpions) wanted the accused so badly that it did not matter how evidence was procured to prosecute him,' Kgomo said shortly before discharging Agliotti of the four counts against him at the South Gauteng High Court, notes a report on the IoL site. Kgomo said the 'interference' with witnesses pointed to the 'irregular action' of the investigators and the investigating team. Referring to the testimony of the state's key witness, security boss Clinton Nassif, Kgomo said: 'Progressively, throughout cross-examination, Nassif detracted most of the evidence rendered in his evidence in chief. 'Nassif was proven to be an untruthful witness who changed his version without batting an eyelid. It is my considered view that Nassif's evidence was of such a poor quality that it could not safely be relied upon.' He added: 'The one witness who could have connected the accused (to the crimes) is Nassif - unfortunately when the totality of the evidence is taken into consideration - he failed dismally.' The motive behind a supplementary affidavit made by Nassif mere months before the trial began was questioned by Kgomo. 'The timing of the supplementary affidavit points to a predetermined, premeditated course of action to implicate the accused.' Full report on the IoL site

NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said the judgment had been 'noted'. The NPA would deliberate on it and then decide on a way forward. He added the NPA was not embarrassed by the outcome, notes a report on the News24 site. Last week, Hodes argued for a discharge of the charges in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedures Act. Kgomo discharged Agliotti of the four counts he faced, two of conspiracy to commit murder, one of attempted murder and another of murder. The murder charge relates to the Kebble shooting in Melrose, north of Johannesburg. One conspiracy charge relates to a plot to kill Allan Gray auditor Stephen Mildenhall, Jean Daniel Nortier, Dr Mark Bristow and Mark Wellesley Woods. The other is for planning to kill Kebble. The attempted murder charge relates to the shooting of Mildenhall in Cape Town in August 2005. A Mail & Guardian Online report notes that evidence during the trial reminded Kgomo of the Corleone family in Mario Puzo's The Godfather. Agliotti played the role of a top commander of the 'capo regime' in the Mafia hierarchy, Kgomo said while revisiting Nassif's testimony. He said Nassif's testimony painted a picture of a structure akin to that of the Mafia. 'The prima facie view that I hold at this time is that I thought there would be evidence led that would causally connect the accused with one or more of the transgressions in the indictment, but in hindsight it looks like the state placed booby traps along the way ... like covering the roadway with rocks in the hopes that a certain vehicle would travel that way and may perchance ... damage itself and ... travel no further,' he said. 'There was an abuse of the system by police. My considered view is that if this state of affairs ... is allowed ... to persist, we should all be very afraid.' Full Mail & Guardian Online report Full report on the News24 site

Kgomo added that the case against Agliotti was no 'run of the mill' criminal trial. 'This case is about hidden agendas perpetrated by shady characters as well as ostensibly crooked or greedy business persons... this case is about corrupt civil servants as well as prominent politicians or politically connected people wining and dining with devils under cover of darkness,' a report in The Citizen quotes Kgomo as saying. Kgomo noted that there was a 'power play' unfolding in the now defunct Scorpions special investigative and prosecuting unit and added that the case played 'second fiddle' to the Selebi prosecution. Selebi is currently in the process of appealing his 15-year corruption sentence, in which Agliotti was a witness. Full report in The Citizen

The question now is what happens to Nassif, suggests a report in The Times. It says Nassif, who tried 'everything in the book' to save his skin and avoid being jailed for the murder of Kebble, now faces a precarious future as his indemnity from prosecution has been revoked by the High Court. In 2006, Nassif, dubbed 'King Rat' by his detractors, turned state witness against his former friend, Agliotti, in return for indemnity for the Kebble murder. But Kgomo denied him indemnity yesterday, saying he had been 'unconvinced' by Nassif. 'I formed an impression that he was not telling this court the whole truth. Why he was never discredited by the state I will never know.' The Times notes that the NPA would not comment last night on whether Nassif would be prosecuted. Full report in The Times