Nassif under pressure in Kebble murder trial

Nassif is the state's sixth witness in the trial of Glenn Agliotti accused of orchestrating the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble. He is a section 204 witness who may receive indemnity from prosecution should his testimony be deemed truthful. Nassif came under fire from Agliotti's attorney, Advocate Laurence Hodes SC, who has repeatedly branded him a liar. It emerged that Nassif was a section 204 witness in a drug matter in 2007. He subsequently entered into a plea agreement with the state on the same charges. His sentence of 10 years suspended for five was a 'slap on the wrist', said Hodes. Hodes suggested the reason he did not receive indemnity in that case was because he had lied in his statement. Nassif denied this saying he was advised by his attorney to enter into the plea agreement because he had left out 'detail' in his statement to the state. 'You call it leaving out detail... I call it being dishonest,' said Hodes, who compared the drug case with the current one, accusing Nassif of 'turning on everybody' to get out of trouble himself. To which Nassif responded curtly: 'Rubbish.' Full report on the News24 site

Nassif's attorney, Tammo Vink, harassed Brett Kebble's business partner, John Stratton, in Australia to discuss a plea bargain, it emerged yesterday. A Mail & Guardian Online report notes that Hodes showed the court an e-mail sent from Vink directly to Stratton in June 2010, which says, regarding the Kebble shooting: 'It's currently a good time for us to sit together and determine a solution to these problems.' Efforts to have Stratton extradited to SA in relation to Kebble's murder have as yet been unsuccessful. According to Hodes, Vink was implying that he had been in contact with the NPA. But the NPA knew nothing about it. In a heated response, Stratton's attorneys asked Vink to leave their client alone. Nassif denied any knowledge of the e-mail from Vink to Stratton. Hodes asked him whether he would have pleaded guilty to resolve the matter, had all the other players agreed to do so. According to a report on the News24 site Nassif said he 'considered it' and he had asked his attorney to 'look into it' because he did not know how it worked. He said he would have gone through with a plea bargain to 'help out' Agliotti. Hodes accused Nassif and his attorney of offering people plea bargains without even consulting with the prosecution first. A report on the IoL site states that Judge Frans Kgomo adjourned the trial to allow Nassif time to rest. This was Nassif's fourth day on the witness stand. The trial continues today. Full Mail & Guardian Online report Full report on the News24 site Full report on the IoL site