The scourge of corruption in South Africa has tightened its grip on our society over the past decade, threatening our democratic achievements, eroding the capacity of the state to advance serious socio-economic transformation, and often undermining the solidarity culture of our broad movement.
The SACP was amongst the first formations to actively launch a mass campaign against corruption - A Red Card Against Corruption. Tragically, there are already martyrs in the struggle against this corrosive evil - among them Mpumalanga SACP cadre, Radioman Ntshangase, and Rustenburg municipal councilor and former NUMSA shopsteward, Moss Phakoe. Both were gunned down for their courageous stands against corruption.
But what lies behind this terrible contagion?
Various explanations are advanced in the South African public debate.
Often it is reduced to bad individual behavior calling for moral condemnation - a "few bad apples", of whom "an example" must be made.
Clearly this is not entirely wrong - those involved in corruption must be dealt with, regardless of who they are, regardless of their political affiliations. In fact, we should expect and demand a higher level of conduct from those who are members of our broad democratic movement and especially from those in public service.
But, sadly, we are dealing with something much more systemic than simply a "few bad apples". In an attempt to find a more generalized explanation for corruption we sometimes encounter syndicalist left-wingers unwittingly echoing "free market" right-wingers in their exaggerated suspicion of the state (or at least the democratic state in a capitalist society) defining it as inherently and in its totality "corrupt". "Power corrupts", we are frequently told - often by an oligopolistic commercial media that likes to conceal its own massive market power.
The idea that politicians and the state are, more or less by definition, corrupt is liable to undermine our determination to use state power (along with social activism) to deal decisively with corruption. It also helps to obscure the fact that where corruption occurs in the public sector there is, invariably, a private sector corrupter, a Glenn Agliotti or a Brett Kebble. For every black property tycoon working in collusion with senior public servants to lease buildings at hugely inflated prices to government there is typically a big bank. The bank might well not literally be breaking the law, but its own senior staff involved in the lease will know exactly what is going on. They will quietly earn inflated bonuses for bringing in business, while the bank chairman publicly condemns the corruption of the new "extraordinary breed of politicians."
Other explanations for corruption in our society belong to the anti-majoritarian pseudo-liberal current of thought. Corruption is blamed on some supposed generalized tendencies within post-independence, Third World liberation movements, for instance. Other explanations border on racial stereotyping, on the supposed propensities of the "new elite" (as if the old elite were not often deeply complicit in past and present corruption).
As it happens, the "new elite" is the key focus of two recent thoughtful interventions by Professor Njabulo Ndebele and cde Joel Netshitenzhe.
Writing in the City Press ("A meditation on corruption", 22 January 2012), Ndebele argues that the "new elite", since being installed in power in the post-1994 reality, has been tugged between competing imperatives - individual redress versus substantial social development, redistribution versus systemic transformation. Although he doesn't quite say this, Ndebele correctly implies that the competing logics of these very different imperatives were often blurred in language as if they were one and the same thing. "Transformation", for instance, came to mean not the radical transformation of the systemic features of apartheid-colonialism, but a touch of racial representivity within essentially the same unchanged realities - the same boardrooms, the same wealthy suburbs, the same elite golf clubs.
Ndebele argues that the "new elite" was increasingly torn between its own "personal material needs...shaped by historical deprivation" on the one hand, and the "social commitment that once gave meaning to the struggle for liberation" on the other. In Ndebele's view, "access to state wealth" meant that relatively quickly individual redress became individual entitlement and these values then trumped social transformation, side-lining it into little more than a "niggling ethical burden".
Writing in ANC Today ("Competing identities of a national liberation movement and the challenges of incumbency", 15 June 2012) Cde Joel Netshitenzhe follows a similar trajectory to explain corruption. He invokes concepts like the "sins of incumbency" and the problem of "growing social distance" between the new political elite and its mass base. Like Ndebele, he analyses the roots of corruption in the psycho-sociological challenges confronting an "emerging middle class" without historical assets to support large extended families, leading it to take on excessive debt. "Having dipped their toes in that lifestyle, but with no historical assets as are available to the white middle and upper strata, some then try to acquire the resources by hook or crook."
There are certainly strong elements of readily recognizable truth in both Ndebele and Netshitenzhe's descriptions. But that is also part of the problem - they tend to remain descriptions, and somewhat one-sided descriptions at that. As a result they are also unable to offer serious anti-corruption programmatic interventions, beyond the very important but limited pedagogical appeal for a change in moral values.
In the public discussion in SA about corruption insufficient attention has been paid to class struggles within our movement, and between our movement and incumbent capital, over the direction of our post-1994 democracy. In particular, there is a failure to recognize that the established white bourgeoisie did not stand idly by in the face of the new, post-1994 political reality. They continued to pursue the agenda of late-apartheid, namely to build a relatively substantial "buffer" black middle strata. This was already the agenda of big capital in the early 1990s negotiations period, for instance. It was no longer a question of preventing the ANC coming to power, but rather to ensure that the ANC that came into power would be hegemonised by the "doves", the "sensible moderates" who would distance themselves from the dangerous "radical populists" and their volatile "mass base".
Much has been made in certain anti-alliance quarters about the woeful consequences of "cadre deployment" - as if (as ANC secretary general, cde Gwede Mantashe likes to point out) the corrupt promotion of someone ill-suited and unqualified for a position on the grounds that they happen to be a political associate was "cadre deployment". But in all of this debate very little has ever been said about the systematic "cadre development and deployment" that key circles of big capital (both domestic and international) implemented in the immediate pre- and post-1994 period. How many key ANC-aligned individuals, for instance, were quietly taken out for internships in arch neo-liberal corporations in the United States, like Goldman Sachs? (Goldman Sachs has recently been deeply discredited, by the way, for its role in provoking and in profiteering from the Greek debt crisis.) Those who "benefited" from this neo-liberal cadre development were then deployed back into strategic positions in government. If I am not mistaken, at least two recent Treasury DGs were graduates of the Goldman Sachs cadre school.
The "social" (and of course ideological and moral) "distance" that cde Netshitenzhe evokes might not have been a conspiracy, but it was certainly part of a deliberate strategy. It was not just an inevitable psycho-sociological syndrome related to historical deprivation, to large extended families, and to the newfound privileges of incumbency.
By the mid-1990s, a key strategy for engineering "social distance" and for consolidating a buffer black elite stratum was the policy of "black economic empowerment". This amounted to a social pact between elements within the new political elite and established big capital. From the side of established big capital it represented in many respects a re-run of how mining and banking capital had once accommodated itself to the 1948 Afrikaner nationalist political victory. But it was also a strategy that was embraced and actively developed by a dominant tendency within the ANC and government (what the SACP has described as the "1996 class project"). For this revisionist tendency within the ANC and government, the creation of a new BEE elite was seen as an active counter-balance to the influence of the SACP, COSATU and the ANC's own township and rural mass base. The strategy found active ideological expression in key ANC documents, including the vulgarization of the concept of "revolutionary motive forces" - with the argument being advanced that all forces that "stood to gain" from the national democratic revolution "were motive forces". This amounted to a local version of the free market "invisible hand" credo that the selfish pursuit of individual satisfaction inevitably leads to the greater good of all.
The first wave of BEE advancements were not necessarily all corrupt (although many questions still surround key early BEE-related moves - notably the arms deal). But the canonization of "BEE" as a central programme of government brought into play a dangerous nexus between political office, personal enrichment, and established capital. The narratives of Ndebele and Netshitenzhe tend to leave out the critical last component of this corrosive, unholy trinity. Let me underline that I am not evoking established capital in order to deflect attention from the culpabilities of the other two components - those who brazenly declared that they "hadn't struggled to be poor".
However, unless we grasp the triadic nexus, this unholy trinity, we will not begin to understand the systemic roots of corruption in our society.
Nor will we be able to develop an effective multi-pronged counter-strategy. For instance, the "social distance" that cde Netshitenzhe and others invoke is not just a metaphor - in South Africa, in which we have not transformed apartheid colonial spatial injustices, social distance is also a yawning geographical reality. For those familiar with the childrens' board-game, our untransformed social reality can easily pitch the new middle strata into a political game of snakes and ladders, in which the snakes and the ladders are exaggeratedly long. If you land on the right square, by securing a regional chairpersonship in the ANC for instance, you might suddenly find yourself on a heady upward ascension. But if you lose your footing, you are liable to fall rapidly down a very long snake, back to zero and abject poverty.
This heady, insecure world of rags-to-riches and riches-to-rags opens up enormous possibilities for strategic (including corrupting) leverage over the new democratic state and over our own alliance formations by those who are well-established and well-resourced. The struggle against corruption and the material conditions that foster it has, therefore, to be a struggle for a much more egalitarian society. We have literally to abolish, amongst many things, the social distance engraved in our persisting apartheid spatial patterns through the accelerated planning and implementation of mixed-used, mixed-income settlement patterns. But this means taking head-on the vested interests of the established capitalist class (the value of their residential properties, for instance), and the venal interests of a comprador elite that has been promoted as a buffer against serious transformation.
Asikhulume!
Jeremy Cronin is SACP 1st Deputy General Secretary.
Source: All Africa
Showing posts with label Glenn Agliotti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glenn Agliotti. Show all posts
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Phone records indicate Nassif was lying
Telephone records by the State's seventh witness in the trial of Brett Kebble murder accused Glenn Agliotti provided further evidence security boss Clinton Nassif had lied. Details of phone calls between people said to be involved in the "assisted suicide" of mining magnate Kebble were presented to the High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday by State witness Petro Heyneke, Vodacom's forensic liaison manager.
Nassif, a section 204 witness for the State, and Kebble's former head of security, told the court last week he was asleep the night of Kebble's murder on September 27, 2005. But telephone records show he made a number of calls between 8.45pm and 9.51pm that night. There was then a gap between phone calls until 11.06pm, when he called his business partner Stephen Sanders. He then called Agliotti.
Prosecutor Lethabo Mashiane asked Heyneke to explain certain calls made by Nassif to Agliotti and vice versa. The records merely indicate the duration of the calls and the approximate location of the cellphone used to make the call. It provides no information on who was speaking or what was said. Agliotti's lawyer Laurance Hodes SC pointed out that the many calls made between Agliotti and Nassif indicated they were not together - if contact was initiated by a phone call. He put it to Heyneke that police requested the records of "40, maybe 50 or even 60" telephone numbers from Vodacom through a subpoena. He asked her whether it "surprised" her that Agliotti's attorney, Robert Kanarek's number was among those police required records for. She replied it was "possible". He then charged that the State, via the subpoena, could gain access to information to "which they are not entitled". Heyneke could not comment on this.
Judge Frans Kgomo asked Heyneke whether Vodacom would provide the president's cellphone records, for example, if requested via a subpoena. She said it was possible as the company did not scrutinise who the number belonged to when providing the records. Heyneke also referred to calls made from Nassif's number to self-confessed Kebble hitmen, boxer Mikey Schultz and Nigel McGurk. Heyneke, prompted by Mashiane, detailed the times of the calls, their duration and approximate location.
After a slight delay caused by the public sector strike, the third week of Agliotti's trial resumed on Tuesday. The stenographer was apparently participating in the strike, but a replacement was found by 11am. "Where are my notes, are they also gone on strike?" quipped Kgomo when he sat down to hear evidence after the morning tea break. Last week Kgomo denied the defence a postponement. Hodes had wanted to halt the trial to approach the National Prosecuting Authority to have the charges against Agliotti withdrawn.
Agliotti is facing four charges, two of conspiracy to commit murder, one of attempted murder and another of murder. The murder charge and one of the conspiracy counts relate to Kebble's murder. He was shot several times in his car in Melrose, Johannesburg. Kgomo adjourned the matter early, and the court building was largely empty by 3pm. The trial continues.
Source: IoL
Nassif, a section 204 witness for the State, and Kebble's former head of security, told the court last week he was asleep the night of Kebble's murder on September 27, 2005. But telephone records show he made a number of calls between 8.45pm and 9.51pm that night. There was then a gap between phone calls until 11.06pm, when he called his business partner Stephen Sanders. He then called Agliotti.
Prosecutor Lethabo Mashiane asked Heyneke to explain certain calls made by Nassif to Agliotti and vice versa. The records merely indicate the duration of the calls and the approximate location of the cellphone used to make the call. It provides no information on who was speaking or what was said. Agliotti's lawyer Laurance Hodes SC pointed out that the many calls made between Agliotti and Nassif indicated they were not together - if contact was initiated by a phone call. He put it to Heyneke that police requested the records of "40, maybe 50 or even 60" telephone numbers from Vodacom through a subpoena. He asked her whether it "surprised" her that Agliotti's attorney, Robert Kanarek's number was among those police required records for. She replied it was "possible". He then charged that the State, via the subpoena, could gain access to information to "which they are not entitled". Heyneke could not comment on this.
Judge Frans Kgomo asked Heyneke whether Vodacom would provide the president's cellphone records, for example, if requested via a subpoena. She said it was possible as the company did not scrutinise who the number belonged to when providing the records. Heyneke also referred to calls made from Nassif's number to self-confessed Kebble hitmen, boxer Mikey Schultz and Nigel McGurk. Heyneke, prompted by Mashiane, detailed the times of the calls, their duration and approximate location.
After a slight delay caused by the public sector strike, the third week of Agliotti's trial resumed on Tuesday. The stenographer was apparently participating in the strike, but a replacement was found by 11am. "Where are my notes, are they also gone on strike?" quipped Kgomo when he sat down to hear evidence after the morning tea break. Last week Kgomo denied the defence a postponement. Hodes had wanted to halt the trial to approach the National Prosecuting Authority to have the charges against Agliotti withdrawn.
Agliotti is facing four charges, two of conspiracy to commit murder, one of attempted murder and another of murder. The murder charge and one of the conspiracy counts relate to Kebble's murder. He was shot several times in his car in Melrose, Johannesburg. Kgomo adjourned the matter early, and the court building was largely empty by 3pm. The trial continues.
Source: IoL
Friday, July 30, 2010
Kebble's dirty empire laid bare
Brett Kebble's former strongman described in vivid detail this week the violence and deceit that lay beneath the surface of Kebble's opulent life.
Clinton Nassif, former owner of the Central National Security Group, is the state's key witness in its case against convicted drug-dealer Glenn Agliotti, the only person charged with Kebble's murder on September 27 2005. Nassif took the stand in the South Gauteng High Court on Thursday.
He testified that he met Agliotti on the golf course in 2003, where they "started discussing business". Nassif told Agliotti he was "doing security, investigations". Agliotti told him he was working for Brett Kebble. A week later Agliotti invited Nassif to a breakfast meeting in Sandton. "He spoke about what he did for the Kebbles. I gave him advice about the things they were doing. He told me he was working with Palto, a team under [former police boss] Jackie Selebi. He told me he was friends with Jackie [Selebi]; they worked on investigations."
Nassif said Agliotti suggested that he should start working for Kebble and his business partner, Australian John Stratton, who they flew down to Cape Town to meet. It was agreed that Nassif and his security firm would do work for the Kebbles, but Agliotti told him: "I handle the Kebbles and Stratton. Any meetings with them go through me." At a meeting with Stratton -- at that stage a director of JCI, of which Kebble was chief executive -- he was told about the company's interests and where JCI's "problems were coming from".
Nassif was contracted to "get information and do surveillance", including "bugging people's motor vehicles" and tapping "many people's phones" for Kebble and Stratton. In one case child pornography was planted on a JCI employee's computer. According to Nassif, he was given a list of people to spy on, including former Durban Roodepoort Deep boss Mark Wellesley-Wood, Uranium One chief executive Jean Nortier and Randgold Resources chief executive Mark Bristow. "We had to get bank statements, keep tabs on everyone [who was] against them [Kebble and Stratton]," Nassif testified. He also told the Kebbles he could bribe prosecutors and magistrates. One case against Roger Kebble, Brett's father, "fell away and we got favoured".
Kebble and Stratton's alleged methods were at their crudest in the shooting of former Allan Gray chief investment officer Stephen Mildenhall, who flew from London on Wednesday to testify in the trial. Mildenhall stood in the way of a large Investec loan to JCI. Nassif said that in mid-2005 Agliotti and Stratton gave him names of people "who ... had to be taken care of". "In one meeting Mildenhall came up. I was informed by Agliotti and Stratton that Mildenhall was the real, real problem. Something had to be done." At a meeting at Stratton's Cape Town house, "Stratton said he wanted this thing done" and pointed a sushi knife at Nassif. Nassif said: "I wasn't willing to take on the job of killing Mildenhall." They renegotiated with Stratton and Agliotti, who agreed that Mildenhall should be "taken out of the system for three to six months".
Nassif also revealed for the first time that Brett Kebble's father, Roger, knew about his son's plans to die. After Nassif was asked by Brett Kebble and Stratton to find a pill that could induce a heart attack, Nassif went to Roger's house at night and told him his son had "crazy" plans. "He [Roger Kebble] freaked out, saying since he [Brett] was a teenager, when things got hard, he always threatened this [suicide] ... we left it at that." When Brett Kebble found out Nassif had told his father, "he blasted me from a dizzy height". Meanwhile, the M&G has learned that charges of tax evasion and tax fraud were laid against Agliotti at the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria this week. They are understood to flow from a confidential inquiry by the South African Revenue Service into Agliotti's tax affairs, which the M&G revealed in late 2008.
The Kebble trial this week gave a glimpse into the world of South Africa’s short-haired musclemen, who kill for cash. And ruthlessly efficient professionalism was not a quality they brought to mind. The three stooges took the stand in the South Gauteng High Court to explain the murder of Kebble and the shooting of Mildenhall in 2005. Boxer Mikey Schultz, rugby player-turned-bouncer Nigel McGurk and panelbeater Faizel "Kappie" Smith took turns in relaying the muddled events that left Mildenhall shot in the shoulder and Kebble dead In chillingly calm tones they described the plans that led to the hit on Mildenhall, who was calling for Kebble’s removal as chief executive of JCI.
Smith, who admits to being paid for "intimidating people and beating people up", said: "We wanted him taken out of action.” McGurk referred to "taking him [Mildenhall] out of commission"; Schultz said that they "wanted him taken care of". The men did not know Mildenhall and, according to Smith, did not even know what he looked like. They weren't making any money from the job -- but the Kebbles' security chief, Clinton Nassif, assured them that Kebble would look after them financially. On the way to Cape Town, the trio's hired BMW 4X4 ran over a "little buck". They had left their cellphones at home to avoid being traced and had to use a payphone to contact Nassif, who drove down to Colesberg. The three hitchhiked a ride to the sleepy Karoo town and Nassif rented them a Volkswagen Citi Golf to continue to Cape Town. Once there, the Mildenhall shooting was sub-sub-contracted to "two guys at a taxi rank" in Claremont, Cape Town, for R150 000. Smith had found them through "a family member". The shooters staked out the wrong house for three days, mixing up roads with streets, McGurk testified. The shooters waited for Mildenhall to return home from work and shot him in both shoulders. Mildenhall, now resident in the UK, still has pain and has restricted movement in his left shoulder, he testified on Wednesday. The shooters kept Mildenhall's driver's licence "to prove that we had done the job", said McGurk. Smith threw the gun into the sea. Mildenhall's wallet and credit cards were burned under a bridge en route to Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, Smith dropped off his accomplices and then "went to fetch my kid from school".
Smith told the court that a few weeks later Schultz had approached him at his panelbeating shop to say: "Kebble wants to go." Through messages passed from Nassif through Schultz to McGurk and Smith, the three planned to carry out the "assisted suicide" of Kebble for R500 000 each, by feigning a hijacking. On September 22 2005, the night originally planned for the job, it was called off. "I was furious; it was the only thing on my mind all night. I even took a shower," said McGurk. At the next attempt, on September 26, Schultz's wife's black Golf GTI, which they used for the hit, overheated and they had to head home. Kebble was "furious" and told Nassif "we didn’t know what we were putting him through", according to Schultz. The next night, Schultz’s gun jammed at the first two attempts. On the third attempt "Kebble rolled down the window and that was the first time I ever saw him," said Schultz. "I pulled the trigger and the gun fired." McGurk testified he was upset that Schultz had told Nassif about the mishaps. "The car overheated, the gun jammed.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Clinton Nassif, former owner of the Central National Security Group, is the state's key witness in its case against convicted drug-dealer Glenn Agliotti, the only person charged with Kebble's murder on September 27 2005. Nassif took the stand in the South Gauteng High Court on Thursday.
He testified that he met Agliotti on the golf course in 2003, where they "started discussing business". Nassif told Agliotti he was "doing security, investigations". Agliotti told him he was working for Brett Kebble. A week later Agliotti invited Nassif to a breakfast meeting in Sandton. "He spoke about what he did for the Kebbles. I gave him advice about the things they were doing. He told me he was working with Palto, a team under [former police boss] Jackie Selebi. He told me he was friends with Jackie [Selebi]; they worked on investigations."
Nassif said Agliotti suggested that he should start working for Kebble and his business partner, Australian John Stratton, who they flew down to Cape Town to meet. It was agreed that Nassif and his security firm would do work for the Kebbles, but Agliotti told him: "I handle the Kebbles and Stratton. Any meetings with them go through me." At a meeting with Stratton -- at that stage a director of JCI, of which Kebble was chief executive -- he was told about the company's interests and where JCI's "problems were coming from".
Nassif was contracted to "get information and do surveillance", including "bugging people's motor vehicles" and tapping "many people's phones" for Kebble and Stratton. In one case child pornography was planted on a JCI employee's computer. According to Nassif, he was given a list of people to spy on, including former Durban Roodepoort Deep boss Mark Wellesley-Wood, Uranium One chief executive Jean Nortier and Randgold Resources chief executive Mark Bristow. "We had to get bank statements, keep tabs on everyone [who was] against them [Kebble and Stratton]," Nassif testified. He also told the Kebbles he could bribe prosecutors and magistrates. One case against Roger Kebble, Brett's father, "fell away and we got favoured".
Kebble and Stratton's alleged methods were at their crudest in the shooting of former Allan Gray chief investment officer Stephen Mildenhall, who flew from London on Wednesday to testify in the trial. Mildenhall stood in the way of a large Investec loan to JCI. Nassif said that in mid-2005 Agliotti and Stratton gave him names of people "who ... had to be taken care of". "In one meeting Mildenhall came up. I was informed by Agliotti and Stratton that Mildenhall was the real, real problem. Something had to be done." At a meeting at Stratton's Cape Town house, "Stratton said he wanted this thing done" and pointed a sushi knife at Nassif. Nassif said: "I wasn't willing to take on the job of killing Mildenhall." They renegotiated with Stratton and Agliotti, who agreed that Mildenhall should be "taken out of the system for three to six months".
Nassif also revealed for the first time that Brett Kebble's father, Roger, knew about his son's plans to die. After Nassif was asked by Brett Kebble and Stratton to find a pill that could induce a heart attack, Nassif went to Roger's house at night and told him his son had "crazy" plans. "He [Roger Kebble] freaked out, saying since he [Brett] was a teenager, when things got hard, he always threatened this [suicide] ... we left it at that." When Brett Kebble found out Nassif had told his father, "he blasted me from a dizzy height". Meanwhile, the M&G has learned that charges of tax evasion and tax fraud were laid against Agliotti at the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria this week. They are understood to flow from a confidential inquiry by the South African Revenue Service into Agliotti's tax affairs, which the M&G revealed in late 2008.
The Kebble trial this week gave a glimpse into the world of South Africa’s short-haired musclemen, who kill for cash. And ruthlessly efficient professionalism was not a quality they brought to mind. The three stooges took the stand in the South Gauteng High Court to explain the murder of Kebble and the shooting of Mildenhall in 2005. Boxer Mikey Schultz, rugby player-turned-bouncer Nigel McGurk and panelbeater Faizel "Kappie" Smith took turns in relaying the muddled events that left Mildenhall shot in the shoulder and Kebble dead In chillingly calm tones they described the plans that led to the hit on Mildenhall, who was calling for Kebble’s removal as chief executive of JCI.
Smith, who admits to being paid for "intimidating people and beating people up", said: "We wanted him taken out of action.” McGurk referred to "taking him [Mildenhall] out of commission"; Schultz said that they "wanted him taken care of". The men did not know Mildenhall and, according to Smith, did not even know what he looked like. They weren't making any money from the job -- but the Kebbles' security chief, Clinton Nassif, assured them that Kebble would look after them financially. On the way to Cape Town, the trio's hired BMW 4X4 ran over a "little buck". They had left their cellphones at home to avoid being traced and had to use a payphone to contact Nassif, who drove down to Colesberg. The three hitchhiked a ride to the sleepy Karoo town and Nassif rented them a Volkswagen Citi Golf to continue to Cape Town. Once there, the Mildenhall shooting was sub-sub-contracted to "two guys at a taxi rank" in Claremont, Cape Town, for R150 000. Smith had found them through "a family member". The shooters staked out the wrong house for three days, mixing up roads with streets, McGurk testified. The shooters waited for Mildenhall to return home from work and shot him in both shoulders. Mildenhall, now resident in the UK, still has pain and has restricted movement in his left shoulder, he testified on Wednesday. The shooters kept Mildenhall's driver's licence "to prove that we had done the job", said McGurk. Smith threw the gun into the sea. Mildenhall's wallet and credit cards were burned under a bridge en route to Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, Smith dropped off his accomplices and then "went to fetch my kid from school".
Smith told the court that a few weeks later Schultz had approached him at his panelbeating shop to say: "Kebble wants to go." Through messages passed from Nassif through Schultz to McGurk and Smith, the three planned to carry out the "assisted suicide" of Kebble for R500 000 each, by feigning a hijacking. On September 22 2005, the night originally planned for the job, it was called off. "I was furious; it was the only thing on my mind all night. I even took a shower," said McGurk. At the next attempt, on September 26, Schultz's wife's black Golf GTI, which they used for the hit, overheated and they had to head home. Kebble was "furious" and told Nassif "we didn’t know what we were putting him through", according to Schultz. The next night, Schultz’s gun jammed at the first two attempts. On the third attempt "Kebble rolled down the window and that was the first time I ever saw him," said Schultz. "I pulled the trigger and the gun fired." McGurk testified he was upset that Schultz had told Nassif about the mishaps. "The car overheated, the gun jammed.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Why hasn’t Agliotti been charged with fraud?
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Brett Kebble murder trial in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg is the fact that the accused, Glenn Agliotti, has not been charged with fraud relating to what appears to be a defence of assisted suicide. The evidence given by Agliotti in the corruption trial of former top cop Jackie Selebi, as well as both Michael “Mikey” Schultz and Nigel McGurk, appears to be that Kebble ordered his own killing. So much so that, as Schultz testified, he waited “patiently” for the gun to be fixed after it misfired on the first two occasions.
According to the latter two, Clinton Nassif, Kebble’s head of security, made all the arrangements. Unlike Stephen Mildenhall, who was purportedly an unwitting victim on a hit list, Kebble allegedly ordered his own hit. If that be so then — to a greater or lesser degree — this much is common cause. Yet that raises the question of why Agliotti, in the knowledge that this was aimed at deriving financial benefit, has not been charged with fraud as well.
The crime itself consists of the unlawful and intentional making of a misrepresentation, knowing it to be false, to the prejudice or potential prejudice of others. In this case the misrepresentation consists of holding out that Kebble was murdered by hijackers or hitmen when all along the parties knew it had been arranged by Kebble under controlled circumstances. At least if the version being given is true. The prejudice primarily being suffered by the insurance companies who paid out on a murder charge — noting of course that potential prejudice would suffice to sustain the charge.
Of course the fact that South African law does not recognise assisted suicide will be of concern in terms of the civil case rather than the criminal one. In this regard if a policy pays out on murder then in terms of South African law — as it presently stands — Kebble fits that description. The insurers can jump up and down all they like but as far as the civil court is concerned the Brett Kebble matter is murder because we don’t recognise assisted suicide. It will be interesting to see the court’s reaction if such a matter finds its way to some poor unsuspecting judge.
In terms of the criminal case, however, the intention was clear — make it look like murder in order to derive financial benefit but claim assisted suicide if caught. Murder is the unlawful and intentional killing of another human being. To exclude unlawfulness one has to show grounds of justification of which assisted suicide is presently not one. Intention in this case is clear and need not be canvassed here. That it is the killing of another human being speaks for itself.
In Lawrence Hodes, Agliotti has an outstanding counsel and it is worthwhile for junior counsel to attend court to see how he approaches these issues.
Source: Mail & Guardian Thought Leader - Michael Trapido
According to the latter two, Clinton Nassif, Kebble’s head of security, made all the arrangements. Unlike Stephen Mildenhall, who was purportedly an unwitting victim on a hit list, Kebble allegedly ordered his own hit. If that be so then — to a greater or lesser degree — this much is common cause. Yet that raises the question of why Agliotti, in the knowledge that this was aimed at deriving financial benefit, has not been charged with fraud as well.
The crime itself consists of the unlawful and intentional making of a misrepresentation, knowing it to be false, to the prejudice or potential prejudice of others. In this case the misrepresentation consists of holding out that Kebble was murdered by hijackers or hitmen when all along the parties knew it had been arranged by Kebble under controlled circumstances. At least if the version being given is true. The prejudice primarily being suffered by the insurance companies who paid out on a murder charge — noting of course that potential prejudice would suffice to sustain the charge.
Of course the fact that South African law does not recognise assisted suicide will be of concern in terms of the civil case rather than the criminal one. In this regard if a policy pays out on murder then in terms of South African law — as it presently stands — Kebble fits that description. The insurers can jump up and down all they like but as far as the civil court is concerned the Brett Kebble matter is murder because we don’t recognise assisted suicide. It will be interesting to see the court’s reaction if such a matter finds its way to some poor unsuspecting judge.
In terms of the criminal case, however, the intention was clear — make it look like murder in order to derive financial benefit but claim assisted suicide if caught. Murder is the unlawful and intentional killing of another human being. To exclude unlawfulness one has to show grounds of justification of which assisted suicide is presently not one. Intention in this case is clear and need not be canvassed here. That it is the killing of another human being speaks for itself.
In Lawrence Hodes, Agliotti has an outstanding counsel and it is worthwhile for junior counsel to attend court to see how he approaches these issues.
Source: Mail & Guardian Thought Leader - Michael Trapido
Monday, July 26, 2010
Boxer reveals Kebble's final moments
A boxer, R2-million and two botched "assisted suicide" attempts emerged in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday as details of mining magnate Brett Kebble's murder.
The state's first witness, called by Gauteng deputy director of public prosecutions Dan Dakana, was professional boxer Michael Schultz, who described how he shot and killed Kebble. "I leaned out the [car] window, pointing the firearm at him... He just lifted his shoulder, his right shoulder, and looked in front... I aimed at his head and pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not discharge," Schultz told the court, describing the night of September 27, 2005.
He was testifying as state witness in the trial of convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, who faced four charges, two related to Kebble's murder. After the gun - which Schultz kept in a kitbag - failed to discharge the first time, he and two other accomplices turned state witnesses, Faizel Smith and Nigel McGurk, drove off. After inspecting the weapon, they returned and found Kebble in his vehicle and tried again. "I leaned out of the window and pointed the firearm... Once again the gun did not discharge."
Schultz said he then told Kebble to wait for him. The trio drove away for the second time. He inspected the gun. They made a U-turn and returned to where they had left Kebble. However, Kebble had driven off. They stopped their car and saw him coming towards them. They flashed their headlights at him. He made a U-turn and "stopped hard" next to them. "I could see the disappointment in his face, he gave me a look like to say 'get this over with, you're putting me through hell'," Schultz said.
Schultz leaned out of the window and this time aimed for Kebble's body. "I pulled the trigger, this time the gun fired. I kept firing." He could not remember how many times he shot, but recalled that one of his instructions was that Kebble should not suffer.
The three then drove away. Schultz looked back and saw Kebble's car rolling forward and hitting the pavement. They sped from the scene in Melrose Street in Johannesburg to Smith's panel-beating business, where Smith cut the gun into pieces and said he would dispose of it. The next morning Schultz got up and went to gym.
During cross-examination, Agliotti's lawyer Laurence Hodes SC put it to Schultz that his client "never ever conspired with you to aid the murder of Roger Brett Kebble". To which Schultz replied: "No, he didn't." Hodes then asked Schultz whether he agreed that Agliotti had not "in any manner" killed the mining magnate. Schultz replied: "I agree." He asked Schultz whether, to his knowledge, Agliotti had received part of the R2-million offered by Kebble to help him die. "Not from the R2-million, no, not to my knowledge," he replied.
Schultz could gain indemnity from prosecution for his role in the murder if the court finds his testimony truthful.
Agliotti faces two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, a charge of attempted murder and one of murder. The first count is conspiracy to commit the murders of Mark Bristow, Jean Daniel Nortier, Mark Wellesley-Woods and Stephen Mildenhall. The second count is the attempted murder of Stephen Mildenhall. The last two are conspiracy to murder Kebble and Kebble's murder.
Judge Frans Kgomo adjourned the matter until Tuesday morning.
Source: IoL
The state's first witness, called by Gauteng deputy director of public prosecutions Dan Dakana, was professional boxer Michael Schultz, who described how he shot and killed Kebble. "I leaned out the [car] window, pointing the firearm at him... He just lifted his shoulder, his right shoulder, and looked in front... I aimed at his head and pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not discharge," Schultz told the court, describing the night of September 27, 2005.
He was testifying as state witness in the trial of convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, who faced four charges, two related to Kebble's murder. After the gun - which Schultz kept in a kitbag - failed to discharge the first time, he and two other accomplices turned state witnesses, Faizel Smith and Nigel McGurk, drove off. After inspecting the weapon, they returned and found Kebble in his vehicle and tried again. "I leaned out of the window and pointed the firearm... Once again the gun did not discharge."
Schultz said he then told Kebble to wait for him. The trio drove away for the second time. He inspected the gun. They made a U-turn and returned to where they had left Kebble. However, Kebble had driven off. They stopped their car and saw him coming towards them. They flashed their headlights at him. He made a U-turn and "stopped hard" next to them. "I could see the disappointment in his face, he gave me a look like to say 'get this over with, you're putting me through hell'," Schultz said.
Schultz leaned out of the window and this time aimed for Kebble's body. "I pulled the trigger, this time the gun fired. I kept firing." He could not remember how many times he shot, but recalled that one of his instructions was that Kebble should not suffer.
The three then drove away. Schultz looked back and saw Kebble's car rolling forward and hitting the pavement. They sped from the scene in Melrose Street in Johannesburg to Smith's panel-beating business, where Smith cut the gun into pieces and said he would dispose of it. The next morning Schultz got up and went to gym.
During cross-examination, Agliotti's lawyer Laurence Hodes SC put it to Schultz that his client "never ever conspired with you to aid the murder of Roger Brett Kebble". To which Schultz replied: "No, he didn't." Hodes then asked Schultz whether he agreed that Agliotti had not "in any manner" killed the mining magnate. Schultz replied: "I agree." He asked Schultz whether, to his knowledge, Agliotti had received part of the R2-million offered by Kebble to help him die. "Not from the R2-million, no, not to my knowledge," he replied.
Schultz could gain indemnity from prosecution for his role in the murder if the court finds his testimony truthful.
Agliotti faces two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, a charge of attempted murder and one of murder. The first count is conspiracy to commit the murders of Mark Bristow, Jean Daniel Nortier, Mark Wellesley-Woods and Stephen Mildenhall. The second count is the attempted murder of Stephen Mildenhall. The last two are conspiracy to murder Kebble and Kebble's murder.
Judge Frans Kgomo adjourned the matter until Tuesday morning.
Source: IoL
Friday, July 2, 2010
Ex-Police Chief in S. Africa Convicted
South Africa's former national police chief was convicted of corruption Friday after a nation beset by crime heard months of testimony about its top cop going on designer shopping sprees with a convicted drug smuggler. The case against Jackie Selebi, a one-time president of Interpol, has been a chief exhibit in a national debate over whether corruption and political meddling is undermining the fight against crime. South Africa's rates of murder and assault are among the world's highest. Selebi, 60, showed little reaction as the verdict was read, and told reporters he had nothing to say as he left the central Johannesburg courthouse. He was not asked to post bail and is free until his sentence is determined in hearings set to start July 14. Selebi, once an important official in the governing African National Congress, had pleaded innocent. He claimed evidence was fabricated for the charge he accepted money and gifts in exchange for meeting the drug smuggler's business associates and tipping him off to investigations into his crimes. Selebi argued he was targeted by enemies who wanted to punish him for his criticism of an elite and now defunct crime-fighting unit. The unit attached to the national prosecutor's office -- setting up clashes with police -- was known as the Scorpions and disbanded in 2008 after it tried to prosecute Jacob Zuma on corruption charges before he went on to become South Africa's president.
Judge Meyer Joffe, in delivering the verdict, said Selebi's conspiracy theory had no basis, and that the former police chief showed ''complete contempt for the truth'' during the trial. The red-robed Joffe said ruling a witness was not credible ''stigmatizes the person as a liar and a person of low moral fiber. ''Every day, society in general and the courts in particular rely on the honesty, integrity and truthfulness of police men and women,'' Joffe said. Selebi has ''not set an example that should be emulated.''
Johan Burger, a researcher with the independent Institute for Security Studies and a former assistant commissioner in the South African police force, said corruption appeared to be on the rise in the force. But Burger said that was hard to document because Selebi disbanded the police anti-corruption unit soon after he took over the force in 2000. Burger said a public concerned about crime will be left questioning how Selebi was able to get away with wrongdoing for years. ''Although the fact that in the end justice prevailed should in many ways address some of the skepticism in the public's mind,'' Burger said. Burger said many on the force saw Selebi as an outsider imposed on them by the ANC.
Selebi was a former school teacher who in his youth was twice detained without trial for his anti-apartheid activism. He went into exile in Tanzania and later the Soviet Union, where he underwent military training. After apartheid ended in 1994, he was a member of the first all-race parliament, and later served as the envoy to the U.N. in Geneva. Selebi is just one of many prominent ANC members tainted by corruption. In a brief statement Friday, the party said the Selebi case ''clearly indicates that South Africa as a country is governed by laws that are applied without any fear or favor to anyone, regardless of their standing.''
The main opposition Democratic Alliance said it was ''time for the many other senior ANC politicians, not least President Jacob Zuma, who still have unanswered questions about corruption hanging over their heads, to also have their day in court.'' Last April, weeks before Zuma led the party to victory in national elections, top prosecutors dropped corruption charges against Zuma, saying the case had been tainted by political meddling.
South Africa comes in 55th out of 180 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, based on surveys of businesses and experts. That means South Africa is seen as less corrupt as places like Greece, Thailand and Zimbabwe, but worse than Botswana, at 37th the highest-ranking African country.
While convicted of corruption, Selebi was found not guilty on the second charge he faced, defeating the ends of justice. The star witness in the trial, which began last October, was convicted drug smuggler Glenn Agliotti. Agliotti himself faces trial later this year, accused in the 2005 murder of mining magnate and ANC financier Brett Kebble. Agliotti has pleaded not guilty to the charge, claiming the death was an assisted suicide. Prosecutors have said that in return for more than 1 million rand ($130,000 U.S.) in cash and gifts over the years, Selebi did favors for Agliotti, including letting him see documents British police sent to their South African counterparts linking Agliotti to drug smuggling. Prosecutors said Agliotti took Selebi shopping at upscale stores in Johannesburg and London, paying for suits, shirts, ties and shoes. Agliotti also bought items for Selebi's sons, wife and girlfriend, prosecutors alleged.
Source: New York Times
Friday, May 7, 2010
Jackson's underworld links surface
Police had not ruled out the possibility that the person who killed Lolly Jackson might have left the country, as their investigations continued on Friday. "We are considering all possibilities," said spokesperson Colonel Eugene Opperman.
The Jeep Cherokee that Jackson arrived in at the Kempton Park house on Monday, and which subsequently disappeared, had been found, he said. Police received a call on Monday night from a man saying Jackson had been shot and that he wanted to hand himself in. But, when they arrived at the rendezvous point, the man was not there. Opperman confirmed they want to speak to George Smith - a former police informer believed to be a Cypriot - about the murder. "Somebody somewhere must be hiding him," he said.
A photograph of Smith was splashed across newspapers on Thursday as police released titbits of information on the case to the media. His name was not on the Interpol wanted list by Friday morning.
Jackson, who owned a chain of strip clubs, was murdered in Kempton Park on Monday night. Theories on the motive for the murder read like plots in a crime novel, with money laundering, a debt dispute and a glitch during the purchase of a performance car put forward by observers. Google searches on some of the people quoted on Jackson's death in the various articles brought up stories of protection racketeers, "security specialists", drug gangs and other underworld activities.
Earlier this week police interviewed Czech Republic citizen Radovan Krejcir for over an hour. His lawyer Ian Small-Smith said the investigators were trying to "unravel the matter" with the help of Krejcir, who is on the run from Czech authorities for tax fraud after being sentenced in absentia to six years in prison. He was on the Interpol wanted list when he was arrested entering South Africa, and is in the process of challenging an extradition attempt by the Czech Republic. Small-Smith said once someone was caught for Jackson's murder, Krejcir would co-operate fully with a trial and denied a report that this may be in exchange for a deal that the extradition matter be dropped.
The web of intrigue even included a cross reference to the Brett Kebble murder, with an allegation by the partner of a former stripper that a Ducati motorbike Jackson owned was found at the crime scene. Small-Smith had represented Clinton Nassif, who has made a deal with the State in the case of the murder of Kebble in 2005. The accused, Glenn Agliotti, was convicted of drug trafficking and was now the main witness in the corruption trial of former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
Small-Smith had also represented State prosecutor Gerrie Nel, when he was briefly detained by police at one stage on the Selebi investigation. Nel, who is currently prosecutor in Selebi's trial, was never charged and was released. He has now been removed from the Kebble case.
Missing German businessman Uwe Gemballa's name also popped up in reports, with Krejcir saying he was supposed to have put up the money for a Porsche conversion franchise that Gemballa wanted to set up in South Africa. Gemballa disappeared after arriving at OR Tambo International Airport in February, and his company was put into provisional liquidation days after.
The Star on Friday quoted a man called Cyril Beeka as saying he had seen Smith on the night Jackson was murdered. A Google search of Beeka brings up stories on the Cape Town "escort agency" scene, his stint as an informer for the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto weSizwe and a brouhaha over him accompanying intelligence boss Mo Shaik to the 2007 ANC elective conference in Polokwane as a minder.
Beeka had at one time briefly employed Ukrainian Yuri Ulianitski in his security business, but Ulianitski then left to start his own business. Ulianitski was murdered along with his small daughter in 2007 as he faced charges of conspiring to kidnap and for possession of illegal firearms and drugs. Jackson was to have attended court this week in connection with extortion allegations relating to a dispute over a former stripper who fell in love and left his company but then her boyfriend allegedly had to pay Jackson money. But, the spokesperson for a bank that, according to one "this is the true story" whisper, may have fired a manager in connection with the Jackson money laundering theory said: "It could have been anybody. It could have been your gardener. It could have been my gardener." "I gave a waiter who was hitchhiking a lift the other day and next thing I saw his picture in the papers for murder. The man was sitting right next to me in my car. You just never know."
Source: News 24
The Jeep Cherokee that Jackson arrived in at the Kempton Park house on Monday, and which subsequently disappeared, had been found, he said. Police received a call on Monday night from a man saying Jackson had been shot and that he wanted to hand himself in. But, when they arrived at the rendezvous point, the man was not there. Opperman confirmed they want to speak to George Smith - a former police informer believed to be a Cypriot - about the murder. "Somebody somewhere must be hiding him," he said.
A photograph of Smith was splashed across newspapers on Thursday as police released titbits of information on the case to the media. His name was not on the Interpol wanted list by Friday morning.
Jackson, who owned a chain of strip clubs, was murdered in Kempton Park on Monday night. Theories on the motive for the murder read like plots in a crime novel, with money laundering, a debt dispute and a glitch during the purchase of a performance car put forward by observers. Google searches on some of the people quoted on Jackson's death in the various articles brought up stories of protection racketeers, "security specialists", drug gangs and other underworld activities.
Earlier this week police interviewed Czech Republic citizen Radovan Krejcir for over an hour. His lawyer Ian Small-Smith said the investigators were trying to "unravel the matter" with the help of Krejcir, who is on the run from Czech authorities for tax fraud after being sentenced in absentia to six years in prison. He was on the Interpol wanted list when he was arrested entering South Africa, and is in the process of challenging an extradition attempt by the Czech Republic. Small-Smith said once someone was caught for Jackson's murder, Krejcir would co-operate fully with a trial and denied a report that this may be in exchange for a deal that the extradition matter be dropped.
The web of intrigue even included a cross reference to the Brett Kebble murder, with an allegation by the partner of a former stripper that a Ducati motorbike Jackson owned was found at the crime scene. Small-Smith had represented Clinton Nassif, who has made a deal with the State in the case of the murder of Kebble in 2005. The accused, Glenn Agliotti, was convicted of drug trafficking and was now the main witness in the corruption trial of former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
Small-Smith had also represented State prosecutor Gerrie Nel, when he was briefly detained by police at one stage on the Selebi investigation. Nel, who is currently prosecutor in Selebi's trial, was never charged and was released. He has now been removed from the Kebble case.
Missing German businessman Uwe Gemballa's name also popped up in reports, with Krejcir saying he was supposed to have put up the money for a Porsche conversion franchise that Gemballa wanted to set up in South Africa. Gemballa disappeared after arriving at OR Tambo International Airport in February, and his company was put into provisional liquidation days after.
The Star on Friday quoted a man called Cyril Beeka as saying he had seen Smith on the night Jackson was murdered. A Google search of Beeka brings up stories on the Cape Town "escort agency" scene, his stint as an informer for the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto weSizwe and a brouhaha over him accompanying intelligence boss Mo Shaik to the 2007 ANC elective conference in Polokwane as a minder.
Beeka had at one time briefly employed Ukrainian Yuri Ulianitski in his security business, but Ulianitski then left to start his own business. Ulianitski was murdered along with his small daughter in 2007 as he faced charges of conspiring to kidnap and for possession of illegal firearms and drugs. Jackson was to have attended court this week in connection with extortion allegations relating to a dispute over a former stripper who fell in love and left his company but then her boyfriend allegedly had to pay Jackson money. But, the spokesperson for a bank that, according to one "this is the true story" whisper, may have fired a manager in connection with the Jackson money laundering theory said: "It could have been anybody. It could have been your gardener. It could have been my gardener." "I gave a waiter who was hitchhiking a lift the other day and next thing I saw his picture in the papers for murder. The man was sitting right next to me in my car. You just never know."
Source: News 24
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Selebi trial: NPA wins battle against Security Ministry
Former intelligence coordinator Barry Gilder will be allowed to testify in the corruption trial of former police boss Jackie Selebi, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday. The State Security Ministry had approached the Constitutional Court to prevent Gilder from taking the stand in the Selebi trial, which resumes on March 1.
"It [the Constitutional Court] has found in our favour," said NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga. "We will now proceed to subpoena Mr Gilder for March 1 so that we can proceed."
The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg and the Supreme Court of Appeal had ruled that Gilder testify in camera in the corruption trial of the former police national commissioner. The ministry then took the matter to the highest court in the land, contending that it was unconstitutional for the NPA to summons Gilder without the permission of the state security director general.
The state wants Gilder to testify about a 2005 draft intelligence report that contained a single paragraph about allegedly untoward payments Selebi was receiving from slain mining magnate Brett Kebble. The ministry argued that forcing Gilder to testify could set a precedent -- with serious constitutional ramifications -- where intelligence information could be compromised. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has previously argued in court that the testimony wanted from Gilder is already in the public domain and has been mentioned by several witnesses in their testimony.
Selebi faces a count of corruption and another of defeating the ends of justice in connection with R1,2-million he allegedly received from Kebble, convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti and former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach in return for favours. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Source: Mail & Guardian
"It [the Constitutional Court] has found in our favour," said NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga. "We will now proceed to subpoena Mr Gilder for March 1 so that we can proceed."
The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg and the Supreme Court of Appeal had ruled that Gilder testify in camera in the corruption trial of the former police national commissioner. The ministry then took the matter to the highest court in the land, contending that it was unconstitutional for the NPA to summons Gilder without the permission of the state security director general.
The state wants Gilder to testify about a 2005 draft intelligence report that contained a single paragraph about allegedly untoward payments Selebi was receiving from slain mining magnate Brett Kebble. The ministry argued that forcing Gilder to testify could set a precedent -- with serious constitutional ramifications -- where intelligence information could be compromised. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has previously argued in court that the testimony wanted from Gilder is already in the public domain and has been mentioned by several witnesses in their testimony.
Selebi faces a count of corruption and another of defeating the ends of justice in connection with R1,2-million he allegedly received from Kebble, convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti and former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach in return for favours. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, January 15, 2010
Selebi trial: NPA takes on Security Ministry
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) filed papers on Thursday to oppose the State Security Ministry's application for leave to appeal a judgement that would allow former national intelligence coordinator Barry Gilder to testify in the corruption trial of former police national commissioner Jackie Selebi.
The ministry lodged a petition at the SCA early in January to overturn a decision by Judge Meyer Joffe to compel Gilder to testify in Selebi's corruption trial.
Selebi is facing a count of corruption and another of defeating the ends of justice in connection with at least R1,2-million he allegedly received from convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, slain mining magnate Brett Kebble and former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach in return for favours.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The ministry lodged a petition at the SCA early in January to overturn a decision by Judge Meyer Joffe to compel Gilder to testify in Selebi's corruption trial.
Selebi is facing a count of corruption and another of defeating the ends of justice in connection with at least R1,2-million he allegedly received from convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, slain mining magnate Brett Kebble and former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach in return for favours.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
'Crooked' cop off for 16 months on full pay
Mpumalanga police commissioner Afrika Khumalo -- alleged in a sworn affidavit by drug baron Glenn Agliotti to have profited from drug trafficking -- has been drawing a salary for 16 months while staying at home on sick leave.
Khumalo told the Mail & Guardian he is still on "incapacity" leave, but would not say what is wrong with him or when he is expected to recover.
"I am recovering. I'm coming back to Mpumalanga," he said, before coughing loudly. "I am the police commissioner of Mpumalanga. Nothing has changed. As soon as I am better, I'm coming back."
Khumalo has not reported for work since March 23 last year. He claimed to be ill on the day he was due to respond at a press conference to media reports of Agliotti's allegations.
In a sworn affidavit to the National Prosecuting Authority on January 11 2007, Agliotti said Khumalo was implicated in an international drug-trafficking syndicate involving national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is on extended leave pending corruption charges.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Khumalo told the Mail & Guardian he is still on "incapacity" leave, but would not say what is wrong with him or when he is expected to recover.
"I am recovering. I'm coming back to Mpumalanga," he said, before coughing loudly. "I am the police commissioner of Mpumalanga. Nothing has changed. As soon as I am better, I'm coming back."
Khumalo has not reported for work since March 23 last year. He claimed to be ill on the day he was due to respond at a press conference to media reports of Agliotti's allegations.
In a sworn affidavit to the National Prosecuting Authority on January 11 2007, Agliotti said Khumalo was implicated in an international drug-trafficking syndicate involving national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is on extended leave pending corruption charges.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Monday, January 21, 2008
Selebi accepted R1.2m in bribes, NPA claims.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) intends to tell the Pretoria high court that convicted drug dealer Glen Agliotti's friendship with Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi became corrupt at Selebi's insistence.
This is contained in the NPA's indictment against Selebi. The document was attached to the NPA's responding affidavit to Selebi's attempt to get the authority to halt his prosecution in the court yesterday.
Selebi is alleged to have accepted at least R1.2 million in bribes that "made no legitimate business sense" from Agliotti and others.
Source: Highbeam
This is contained in the NPA's indictment against Selebi. The document was attached to the NPA's responding affidavit to Selebi's attempt to get the authority to halt his prosecution in the court yesterday.
Selebi is alleged to have accepted at least R1.2 million in bribes that "made no legitimate business sense" from Agliotti and others.
Source: Highbeam
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Armed policemen arrest Scorpions boss
Scorpions boss Gerrie Nel was arrested at his Pretoria home on charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice on Tuesday night, his attorney Ian Small Smith confirmed on Wednesday. Nel, the regional head of the Directorate of Special Operations, also known as the Scorpions, was arrested by about 20 armed policemen in front of his wife and children at his home at around 9pm on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini said Nel faced five charges including fraud, defeating the ends of justice and perjury. He is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Friday.
According to the arrest warrant the charges against Nel were corruption and defeating the ends of justice between 2004 and 2005. "The warrant was issued on the 22nd of November 2007 on a case registered in September 2007 for offences allegedly committed between 2004 and 2005," he said. "The police elected to withhold the warrant until the seventh of January before they arrested Advocate Nel under these peculiar, abusive and suspicious circumstances."
Nel's legal team was preparing an urgent application for Nel's release to the Pretoria High Court, "on the basis that the warrant of arrest is malicious and that the police obtained the warrant in bad faith". "His subsequent detention is unlawful and the court would be urged to order his release." Nel led the investigation into the shooting of mining magnate Brett Kebble and led the state's probe into alleged criminal activity by police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. His arrest comes as pressure mounts on the NPA to disclose their decision on whether or not Selebi had a case to answer.
The NPA on December 16 said it had made the decision following a report received from a panel tasked with reviewing the criminal charges against Selebi. Selebi has come under fire over his involvement with convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, who is also accused of the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble. An arrest warrant against Selebi was cancelled in September last year. It was obtained by Nel from the Randburg chief magistrate on September 10, for Selebi's arrest for alleged corruption, fraud, racketeering and defeating the ends of justice. In November last year, it emerged that Nel was the focus of a police investigation headed by one of the Gauteng province's top cops, Commissioner Richard Mdluli.
Acting national director of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe on had held a high level Scorpions meeting in Cape Town where the case against Nel, and the possible reasons behind it, had topped the agenda. Two of the complaints against Nel were made by one of his own investigators, Andrew du Plooy. Du Plooy, who helped to expose allegedly corrupt former members of the unit, Cornwell Tshavhungwa and Geophrey Ledwaba, had opened a docket against Nel and investigator Piet Pieterse at the Silverton police station in Tshwane in 2007.
This was after Du Plooy had reported a complaint against the two men in 2006.
Source: Mail & Guardian
According to the arrest warrant the charges against Nel were corruption and defeating the ends of justice between 2004 and 2005. "The warrant was issued on the 22nd of November 2007 on a case registered in September 2007 for offences allegedly committed between 2004 and 2005," he said. "The police elected to withhold the warrant until the seventh of January before they arrested Advocate Nel under these peculiar, abusive and suspicious circumstances."
Nel's legal team was preparing an urgent application for Nel's release to the Pretoria High Court, "on the basis that the warrant of arrest is malicious and that the police obtained the warrant in bad faith". "His subsequent detention is unlawful and the court would be urged to order his release." Nel led the investigation into the shooting of mining magnate Brett Kebble and led the state's probe into alleged criminal activity by police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. His arrest comes as pressure mounts on the NPA to disclose their decision on whether or not Selebi had a case to answer.
The NPA on December 16 said it had made the decision following a report received from a panel tasked with reviewing the criminal charges against Selebi. Selebi has come under fire over his involvement with convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, who is also accused of the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble. An arrest warrant against Selebi was cancelled in September last year. It was obtained by Nel from the Randburg chief magistrate on September 10, for Selebi's arrest for alleged corruption, fraud, racketeering and defeating the ends of justice. In November last year, it emerged that Nel was the focus of a police investigation headed by one of the Gauteng province's top cops, Commissioner Richard Mdluli.
Acting national director of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe on had held a high level Scorpions meeting in Cape Town where the case against Nel, and the possible reasons behind it, had topped the agenda. Two of the complaints against Nel were made by one of his own investigators, Andrew du Plooy. Du Plooy, who helped to expose allegedly corrupt former members of the unit, Cornwell Tshavhungwa and Geophrey Ledwaba, had opened a docket against Nel and investigator Piet Pieterse at the Silverton police station in Tshwane in 2007.
This was after Du Plooy had reported a complaint against the two men in 2006.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Monday, October 1, 2007
Pikoli's suspension 'sinister'
The shock suspension of South Africa's prosecutions head amid silence by President Thabo Mbeki has led to concerns of "sinister" dealings and government meddling in the country's justice system. Mbeki's integrity came under fire this week as his suspension of top prosecutor Vusi Pikoli was linked to the alleged pending arrest of national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, who is seen as an ally to the president.
With no reaction from Mbeki, analysts and opposition political parties fear Mbeki may have acted out of a desire to protect Selebi, also the president of international policing agency Interpol. Analyst Steven Friedman of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa said suggestions of political interference in the justice system was cause for serious concern. "If Selebi is not charged, clearly there will be a suggestion that the president got Pikoli out of the way to protect Selebi," he told AFP. Friedman said Mbeki's silence on the issue was damaging, bordering on disdainful, and created the impression that "something sinister is afoot". Selebi faced a raft of calls to quit last year when his friend, businessman Glen Agliotti, was charged with the mafia-style killing of mining magnate Brett Kebble.
Last Sunday, Mbeki suspended Pikoli due to what a government statement said was an irretrievable breakdown in his relationship with the country's justice minister. But news reports on Friday claimed Pikoli's suspension followed within days of Mbeki learning about Selebi's pending arrest, with the NPA believed to have obtained the warrant last week. Opposition political parties have called for Selebi's head, and for Mbeki to quell the speculation by breaking his silence on the alleged link between the two events. "If the speculation turns out to be correct, then we have a dilemma," said Human Sciences Research Council political commentator Adam Habib. "If the predident suspended Mr Pikoli on the grounds that he had issued a warrant for the commissioner's arrest, then it suggests that an invasion is being made into an independent institution's operations. "Intervening in the operations of the National Prosecuting Authority constitutes a violation of our constitution."
No confirmation has been forthcoming from the government, prosecutors or Selebi's office of reported claims that a warrant had been issued for the commissioner's arrest. Main opposition Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said in a statement on Friday it "seems clear that the suspension of Pikoli was motivated by the desire of President Mbeki to protect his close ally (Selebi)." "The implications of this development for our democracy are profound. "If true, this latest allegation ... points to the fact that we have entered the phase of an imperial Presidency, where the President appears to govern almost with impunity."
The weekly Mail and Guardian newspaper suggested in an editorial Friday that Pikoli's suspension pointed to political expediency impacting on crime-fighting. "Pikoli's suspension is closely intertwined with the ... investigation into Selebi's alleged links with organised crime," it said. "There is a persuasive view that Mbeki wishes to head this off before the ANC's Polokwane conference for fear of the political harm it might do him."
The ANC meets in Polokwane in the Limpopo province at year-end to elect a new leader, with Mbeki still in the running for a third term as party head. Main contender, ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, is also in the national prosecuting authority's aim, ever since his financial advisor Schabir Shaik was convicted in 2005 of corruption and fraud in connection with bribes arranged for Zuma. Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga could not be reached for comment.
Source: News 24
With no reaction from Mbeki, analysts and opposition political parties fear Mbeki may have acted out of a desire to protect Selebi, also the president of international policing agency Interpol. Analyst Steven Friedman of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa said suggestions of political interference in the justice system was cause for serious concern. "If Selebi is not charged, clearly there will be a suggestion that the president got Pikoli out of the way to protect Selebi," he told AFP. Friedman said Mbeki's silence on the issue was damaging, bordering on disdainful, and created the impression that "something sinister is afoot". Selebi faced a raft of calls to quit last year when his friend, businessman Glen Agliotti, was charged with the mafia-style killing of mining magnate Brett Kebble.
Last Sunday, Mbeki suspended Pikoli due to what a government statement said was an irretrievable breakdown in his relationship with the country's justice minister. But news reports on Friday claimed Pikoli's suspension followed within days of Mbeki learning about Selebi's pending arrest, with the NPA believed to have obtained the warrant last week. Opposition political parties have called for Selebi's head, and for Mbeki to quell the speculation by breaking his silence on the alleged link between the two events. "If the speculation turns out to be correct, then we have a dilemma," said Human Sciences Research Council political commentator Adam Habib. "If the predident suspended Mr Pikoli on the grounds that he had issued a warrant for the commissioner's arrest, then it suggests that an invasion is being made into an independent institution's operations. "Intervening in the operations of the National Prosecuting Authority constitutes a violation of our constitution."
No confirmation has been forthcoming from the government, prosecutors or Selebi's office of reported claims that a warrant had been issued for the commissioner's arrest. Main opposition Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said in a statement on Friday it "seems clear that the suspension of Pikoli was motivated by the desire of President Mbeki to protect his close ally (Selebi)." "The implications of this development for our democracy are profound. "If true, this latest allegation ... points to the fact that we have entered the phase of an imperial Presidency, where the President appears to govern almost with impunity."
The weekly Mail and Guardian newspaper suggested in an editorial Friday that Pikoli's suspension pointed to political expediency impacting on crime-fighting. "Pikoli's suspension is closely intertwined with the ... investigation into Selebi's alleged links with organised crime," it said. "There is a persuasive view that Mbeki wishes to head this off before the ANC's Polokwane conference for fear of the political harm it might do him."
The ANC meets in Polokwane in the Limpopo province at year-end to elect a new leader, with Mbeki still in the running for a third term as party head. Main contender, ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, is also in the national prosecuting authority's aim, ever since his financial advisor Schabir Shaik was convicted in 2005 of corruption and fraud in connection with bribes arranged for Zuma. Mbeki's spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga could not be reached for comment.
Source: News 24
Friday, November 3, 2006
Kebble murder: The noose tightens
A Scorpions subpoena obtained by the Mail & Guardian outlines the full scope of project "Bad Guys" -- the elite unit's investigation into the allegedly criminal network surrounding Brett Kebble; the network's role in or after Kebble's murder; and police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi's proximity to the network.
The Scorpions' arrest last week of Kebble security adviser Clinton Nassif, although on a relatively minor charge, appears to represent a breakthrough: Nassif features in each of the main strands of the investigation. Nassif handed himself over to the Scorpions last Thursday after they had issued a warrant for his arrest. This was two days before he would have left for the United States, where, on his own version, he intended to set up a call-centre business. He had already sold some of his properties in South Africa.
Nassif is said to have also put his main business, the Central National Security Group (CNSG), on the market. CNSG was contracted to Kebble's former company, JCI, providing services ranging from physical security to intelligence and investigations. The immediate charge against Nassif is one of insurance fraud -- he allegedly had his Mercedes dropped by a forklift in 2004 to increase the damage after he had been involved in a relatively minor accident. He claimed R500 000 from his insurers. Nassif, who denies the charge, was released on R300 000 bail a day after his arrest. Bail was not opposed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), leading to speculation that he might have agreed to turn state witness in the wider investigation.
The first official confirmation of the extensive nature of the investigation appears in subpoenas issued by the Scorpions to potential witnesses against Nassif. The subpoenas were issued under a section of the NPA Act which compels witnesses to answer questions posed by investigators and to hand over evidence.
The M&G has obtained a copy of the subpoena from one of these witnesses. The subpoena states the project name of the investigation -- "Bad Guys" -- and then lists the offences being investigated: corruption, defeating the ends of justice, contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, fraud, contravention of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, conspiracy to murder and murder. The fact that the subpoenas locate Nassif's alleged insurance fraud in the context of this wider investigation is evidence of his central role in the network surrounding Kebble, and the fact that the Scorpions regard his arrest as a stepping stone to solving much more serious crimes.
The central strands under investigation in project "Bad Guys", and Nassif's alleged connection with them, are as follows:
Conspiracy to murder and murder
The role of Nassif and CNSG in the removal of Kebble's car from police custody the day after he was murdered -- allegedly to be cleaned, and before police had conducted a proper forensic investigation -- suggests an attempt at a cover-up after the murder.
Noteworthy in this episode is the confusion between the roles of the police and of operators in Nassif's CNSG in the early stages of the murder investigation.
From the Scorpions' subpoena and the context it is clear that project "Bad Guys" includes an investigation of the Kebble murder. This raises the possibility that the Scorpions believe Kebble was killed by members of the network he had assembled around him.
Corruption
For some time, the M&G has known of allegations, derived inter alia from reports of an informer close to CNSG, that Nassif and others in the network had paid Selebi. The Sunday Times brought this allegation into the open last weekend, adding that "police have repudiated this claim".
The M&G is not aware of a direct relationship between Nassif and Selebi.
However, Nassif's empowerment partner at CNSG used to be Nontombi Matshoba, Selebi's African National Congress secretary before he entered government in 1994.
Nassif is close to Glenn Agliotti, who also consulted for JCI under Kebble. Agliotti is the businessperson -- and drug smuggling suspect -- whom Selebi has described as "my friend, finish and klaar". Selebi has subsequently tried to downplay their relationship, while Agliotti has denied involvement in crime.
According to one source with intimate knowledge of CNSG, Nassif and Agliotti were introduced to JCI by Paul Stemmet, whose security company, Palto, controversially performed undercover operations for police.
Stemmet habitually boasted he was acting under Selebi's authority. Several sources have said Nassif and Agliotti later fell out with Stemmet.
The M&G has repeatedly underscored the Scorpions' interest in the relationship between Selebi and members of the network. The implication is that Selebi is under investigation.
However, Selebi has told the M&G that he has nothing to fear. "I still insist that if the Scorpions come here with an investigation against me, I am not concerned. I know these hands are not dirty."
Drug trafficking and organised crime
The M&G has reported extensively on the relationship between a major Scorpions drug bust in July and the wider investigation now known to be project "Bad Guys".
Scorpions investigators -- the same as those looking at the network around Kebble -- arrested five suspected members of an international drug syndicate, confiscating hashish and compressed dagga with a street value of between R100-million and R200-million. Key among those arrested was Stephanos Paparas, who has links with Agliotti.
From Scorpions court papers it emerged that they regarded "the Landlord" - Agliotti's code name - as a boss of the drugs syndicate. They have since searched Agliotti's home and business premises.
The wording of the search warrant, obtained by the M&G, makes it clear the investigation also encompassed the role of Stemmet and senior police persons.
Nassif and Agliotti's relationship is believed to have extended well beyond their work for JCI under Kebble. In an affidavit submitted to the Randburg Regional Court last Friday in support of his bail application, Nassif described his plan to set up a call-centre business in Los Angeles and described a visit to the US in July. Several sources confirm Agliotti joined Nassif on that trip.
Nassif's lawyer, Tammo Vink, said M&G questions could not be considered in the available time.
Nassif's cover-up?
It is little surprise that Nassif now features in the Scorpions investigation of the Kebble murder -- his role in the aftermath of the killing was almost immediately controversial. Nassif's actions regarding the car Kebble was driving when he was shot looked like an attempt to prevent a proper forensic examination, though Nassif has defended his actions as entirely innocent.
The treatment of Kebble's Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the aftermath of a high-profile murder was extraordinary. Almost before the mining tycoon's blood was dry, the vehicle was removed from the crime scene to Wynberg police station, where it did not stay for long.
Mark Groenewald, a co-owner of Danmar Autobody panel-beaters, told the M&G that Nassif phoned him at about 11am, the day after the murder, requesting him to collect the vehicle. Nassif told Groenewald that Captain Henry Beukes would authorise the release of the vehicle. Beukes, it has since emerged, was an ex-policeman employed by Nassif. According to Groenewald, Nassif called later the same day, saying members of the Kebble family were flying into Johannesburg and asking that the car be given a complete valet cleaning service.
Nassif has previously denied issuing such an instruction. Meanwhile, Groenewald consulted the car's insurance agent and was warned against cleaning the car. It was therefore covered and left uncleaned. Groenewald said he was subsequently made aware that independent forensic investigator David Klatzow wanted to inspect the vehicle. Klatzow had been appointed by the Kebble family to conduct independent investigations alongside the police.
However, before the inspection could take place, Nassif phoned from Cape Town and attempted to have the car released to his employees from Central National Security. It appears he was aware of the attempt by Klatzow to gain access to the vehicle. Groenewald eventually released the car to the official investigating officer, Captain Johan "Dick" Diedericks, but it was reported at the time that an employee of Nassif, Andre Burger, accompanied Diedericks.
Klatzow was the first to raise the alarm about the removal of the car from the crime scene, and what he calls "unheard of" weaknesses in the police investigation. Klatzow says that when he arrived in Johannesburg three days after the murder, informers were already telling him about the involvement of Kebble associates in the murder. He visited the crime scene, and met with police ballistics and blood-splatter experts. "I discovered that they had not yet examined the car, nor had they properly examined the scene. They hadn't looked for spent cartridges by the side of the road, they hadn't looked for the weapon in the nearby stream."
Later that morning Klatzow was able to view the Mercedes for the first time at Danmar's premises. "I then heard that Nassif was having the car released to him, and I asked [Kebble adviser] Willem Heath to intervene. I wanted to examine the car the next day in the presence of the police experts, but they told me they had been ordered 'from on high' not to examine the car in my presence."
According to Klatzow, Heath's son Marius then called him to terminate his involvement in the investigation, on the basis that Selebi had protested to Roger Kebble about Klatzow's role. Selebi has previously denied this.
The ballistic evidence, Klatzow maintains, points to the probable involvement of people in the security establishment, who favour the kind of low velocity rounds which killed Kebble.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The Scorpions' arrest last week of Kebble security adviser Clinton Nassif, although on a relatively minor charge, appears to represent a breakthrough: Nassif features in each of the main strands of the investigation. Nassif handed himself over to the Scorpions last Thursday after they had issued a warrant for his arrest. This was two days before he would have left for the United States, where, on his own version, he intended to set up a call-centre business. He had already sold some of his properties in South Africa.
Nassif is said to have also put his main business, the Central National Security Group (CNSG), on the market. CNSG was contracted to Kebble's former company, JCI, providing services ranging from physical security to intelligence and investigations. The immediate charge against Nassif is one of insurance fraud -- he allegedly had his Mercedes dropped by a forklift in 2004 to increase the damage after he had been involved in a relatively minor accident. He claimed R500 000 from his insurers. Nassif, who denies the charge, was released on R300 000 bail a day after his arrest. Bail was not opposed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), leading to speculation that he might have agreed to turn state witness in the wider investigation.
The first official confirmation of the extensive nature of the investigation appears in subpoenas issued by the Scorpions to potential witnesses against Nassif. The subpoenas were issued under a section of the NPA Act which compels witnesses to answer questions posed by investigators and to hand over evidence.
The M&G has obtained a copy of the subpoena from one of these witnesses. The subpoena states the project name of the investigation -- "Bad Guys" -- and then lists the offences being investigated: corruption, defeating the ends of justice, contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, fraud, contravention of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, conspiracy to murder and murder. The fact that the subpoenas locate Nassif's alleged insurance fraud in the context of this wider investigation is evidence of his central role in the network surrounding Kebble, and the fact that the Scorpions regard his arrest as a stepping stone to solving much more serious crimes.
The central strands under investigation in project "Bad Guys", and Nassif's alleged connection with them, are as follows:
Conspiracy to murder and murder
The role of Nassif and CNSG in the removal of Kebble's car from police custody the day after he was murdered -- allegedly to be cleaned, and before police had conducted a proper forensic investigation -- suggests an attempt at a cover-up after the murder.
Noteworthy in this episode is the confusion between the roles of the police and of operators in Nassif's CNSG in the early stages of the murder investigation.
From the Scorpions' subpoena and the context it is clear that project "Bad Guys" includes an investigation of the Kebble murder. This raises the possibility that the Scorpions believe Kebble was killed by members of the network he had assembled around him.
Corruption
For some time, the M&G has known of allegations, derived inter alia from reports of an informer close to CNSG, that Nassif and others in the network had paid Selebi. The Sunday Times brought this allegation into the open last weekend, adding that "police have repudiated this claim".
The M&G is not aware of a direct relationship between Nassif and Selebi.
However, Nassif's empowerment partner at CNSG used to be Nontombi Matshoba, Selebi's African National Congress secretary before he entered government in 1994.
Nassif is close to Glenn Agliotti, who also consulted for JCI under Kebble. Agliotti is the businessperson -- and drug smuggling suspect -- whom Selebi has described as "my friend, finish and klaar". Selebi has subsequently tried to downplay their relationship, while Agliotti has denied involvement in crime.
According to one source with intimate knowledge of CNSG, Nassif and Agliotti were introduced to JCI by Paul Stemmet, whose security company, Palto, controversially performed undercover operations for police.
Stemmet habitually boasted he was acting under Selebi's authority. Several sources have said Nassif and Agliotti later fell out with Stemmet.
The M&G has repeatedly underscored the Scorpions' interest in the relationship between Selebi and members of the network. The implication is that Selebi is under investigation.
However, Selebi has told the M&G that he has nothing to fear. "I still insist that if the Scorpions come here with an investigation against me, I am not concerned. I know these hands are not dirty."
Drug trafficking and organised crime
The M&G has reported extensively on the relationship between a major Scorpions drug bust in July and the wider investigation now known to be project "Bad Guys".
Scorpions investigators -- the same as those looking at the network around Kebble -- arrested five suspected members of an international drug syndicate, confiscating hashish and compressed dagga with a street value of between R100-million and R200-million. Key among those arrested was Stephanos Paparas, who has links with Agliotti.
From Scorpions court papers it emerged that they regarded "the Landlord" - Agliotti's code name - as a boss of the drugs syndicate. They have since searched Agliotti's home and business premises.
The wording of the search warrant, obtained by the M&G, makes it clear the investigation also encompassed the role of Stemmet and senior police persons.
Nassif and Agliotti's relationship is believed to have extended well beyond their work for JCI under Kebble. In an affidavit submitted to the Randburg Regional Court last Friday in support of his bail application, Nassif described his plan to set up a call-centre business in Los Angeles and described a visit to the US in July. Several sources confirm Agliotti joined Nassif on that trip.
Nassif's lawyer, Tammo Vink, said M&G questions could not be considered in the available time.
Nassif's cover-up?
It is little surprise that Nassif now features in the Scorpions investigation of the Kebble murder -- his role in the aftermath of the killing was almost immediately controversial. Nassif's actions regarding the car Kebble was driving when he was shot looked like an attempt to prevent a proper forensic examination, though Nassif has defended his actions as entirely innocent.
The treatment of Kebble's Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the aftermath of a high-profile murder was extraordinary. Almost before the mining tycoon's blood was dry, the vehicle was removed from the crime scene to Wynberg police station, where it did not stay for long.
Mark Groenewald, a co-owner of Danmar Autobody panel-beaters, told the M&G that Nassif phoned him at about 11am, the day after the murder, requesting him to collect the vehicle. Nassif told Groenewald that Captain Henry Beukes would authorise the release of the vehicle. Beukes, it has since emerged, was an ex-policeman employed by Nassif. According to Groenewald, Nassif called later the same day, saying members of the Kebble family were flying into Johannesburg and asking that the car be given a complete valet cleaning service.
Nassif has previously denied issuing such an instruction. Meanwhile, Groenewald consulted the car's insurance agent and was warned against cleaning the car. It was therefore covered and left uncleaned. Groenewald said he was subsequently made aware that independent forensic investigator David Klatzow wanted to inspect the vehicle. Klatzow had been appointed by the Kebble family to conduct independent investigations alongside the police.
However, before the inspection could take place, Nassif phoned from Cape Town and attempted to have the car released to his employees from Central National Security. It appears he was aware of the attempt by Klatzow to gain access to the vehicle. Groenewald eventually released the car to the official investigating officer, Captain Johan "Dick" Diedericks, but it was reported at the time that an employee of Nassif, Andre Burger, accompanied Diedericks.
Klatzow was the first to raise the alarm about the removal of the car from the crime scene, and what he calls "unheard of" weaknesses in the police investigation. Klatzow says that when he arrived in Johannesburg three days after the murder, informers were already telling him about the involvement of Kebble associates in the murder. He visited the crime scene, and met with police ballistics and blood-splatter experts. "I discovered that they had not yet examined the car, nor had they properly examined the scene. They hadn't looked for spent cartridges by the side of the road, they hadn't looked for the weapon in the nearby stream."
Later that morning Klatzow was able to view the Mercedes for the first time at Danmar's premises. "I then heard that Nassif was having the car released to him, and I asked [Kebble adviser] Willem Heath to intervene. I wanted to examine the car the next day in the presence of the police experts, but they told me they had been ordered 'from on high' not to examine the car in my presence."
According to Klatzow, Heath's son Marius then called him to terminate his involvement in the investigation, on the basis that Selebi had protested to Roger Kebble about Klatzow's role. Selebi has previously denied this.
The ballistic evidence, Klatzow maintains, points to the probable involvement of people in the security establishment, who favour the kind of low velocity rounds which killed Kebble.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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