Nel arrest linked to Selebi probe

Nel, who was arrested and handcuffed in front of his family on Tuesday night, was released on bail yesterday. He is hoping to be back in his post today, says a report on the IoL site. Nel, who heads the Scorpions investigation against Selebi, was arrested at his Pretoria home in front of his wife and children at around 9pm on Tuesday night. Yesterday, his legal team brought an urgent application to the Pretoria High Court to secure his release. That case was postponed indefinitely, giving his team a chance to bring a late afternoon bail application to the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court. He is charged with corruption and defeating the administration of justice. Nel was granted R10 000 bail on condition that he did not interfere with the police investigation. However, by late yesterday, it was still unclear as to when he would actually return to work. ‘The NPA is yet to consider the matter. He will be told as soon as possible (as to when he would return to work),’ said the NPA\'s Tlali Tlali. Full report on the IoL site

Nel\'s attorney, Ian Small-Smith, questioned the way in which police handled the issue, saying Nel could have been asked to hand himself over to police, rather than being arrested and handcuffed in front of his family. ‘If the charges were of a violent nature and he was a dangerous man, one could understand it, but it was unnecessary – it looked like a power display by police,’ he said, according to a report on the Mail & Guardian Online site. He said it was still unclear as to what the charges against Nel were. ‘We don\'t have access to the dossier and we ourselves are not 100% sure. The warrant of arrest is hazy; it just speaks of corruption and defeating the administration of justice ... but it does not give the exact accusations,’ Small-Smith said. ‘The warrant was issued on 22 November 2007 on a case registered in September 2007 for offences allegedly committed between 2004 to 2005,’ Smal-Smith says in a report on the Legalbrief Today site. ‘The police elected to withhold the warrant until January before they arrested Advocate Nel under these peculiar, abusive and suspicious circumstances.’ Full Mail & Guardian Online report Full report on the Legalbrief Today site

Acting Head of the National Prosecuting Authority Mokotedi Mpshe was shocked and disappointed by the arrest of Nel. Mpshe said in a radio interview that the NPA was still waiting for the docket on Nel to be handed over by the police so it could decide whether to prosecute him. Mpshe said that although he could not say the police had acted irregularly he did believe that they had acted unexpectedly. He added he was aware of the investigation into Nel which had started last year. According to a report on the IoL site, Mpshe said the investigation into Nel was not related to the probe of Selebi, but rather Nel’s alleged interference in another case. Full IoL report

The axing of Vusi Pikoli and now the arrest of Nel has all the appearance of a witch-hunt to protect Selebi, said DA spokesperson on Safety and Security, Dianne Kohler Barnard. ‘The fact that it allegedly took 20 armed policemen to serve the warrant on Nel (police have denied there were 20 members present) further reinforces this,’ she said in a Mail & Guardian Online report. ‘This arrest gives the impression that our criminal justice system favours some and not others. It is revealing to see that the wheels of justice seem to turn much faster in Nel\'s case, yet drag on for ever with Selebi. Are we not all equal before the law?’ She said the NPA’s silence on whether it planned to charge Selebi or not did nothing to dispel fears that Nel\'s arrest was somehow connected to the case. ‘The DA repeats its calls for the NPA to make its decision public and bring this damaging silence to an immediate end.’ However, Mpshe told 702 Talk Radio the decision about whether to charge Selebi would be made public before the end of the month. ACDP president Reverend Kenneth Meshoe said that Mpshe should be replaced if a decision to prosecute Selebi was not taken soon. ‘If the responsible individuals in the NPA are unable to inform the public and to prosecute the National Police Commissioner as is widely expected, because of fears of political consequences, then they must be replaced by courageous individuals who will not allow fear to stop them from fulfilling their duties,’ he said. Full Mail & Guardian Online report

The protection of Selebi theory is explored in detail in an article on the Moneyweb site by investigative journalist Barry Sergeant. He notes the allegations against Nel, who he describes as one of the finest prosecutors in the country, go back nearly four years, to testimony he delivered against allegedly corrupt former Scorpions, including Cornwell Tshavhungwa. In much the same vein, notes Sergeant, the SAPS has been harassing other individuals lined up to testify against Selebi. The Selebi network has been campaigning on other fronts as well; a few months ago, it offered Agliotti a ‘better’ deal, without apparently knowing that the Scorpions had already negotiated the best possible deal. Full Moneyweb report