Agliotti finishes testifying

2009-11-03 17:12

Johannesburg - Convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti finished testifying in the corruption case of former police head Jackie Selebi on Tuesday.

The former friend of Selebi was the first State witness in the case and was in the witness box in the South Gauteng High Court for 11 days.

Next to take the stand is expected to be Agliotti’s ex-fiancée Dianne Muller.

Agliotti has testified that Muller allegedly once packed an envelope with money destined for Selebi and delivered it to a boardroom where they were meeting.

She could, therefore, be one of the only people who witnessed the alleged exchanges of payments between the former friends.

Indemnity to be decided

Agliotti stands to receive indemnity from prosecution on various charges if he is found to have testified "frankly and honestly".

Both the State and defence will make submissions on the quality of his testimony.

Judge Meyer Joffe will then decide at the end of the trial whether the indemnity will be granted.

On Tuesday, Agliotti testified that Selebi asked him for a payment the day after mining magnate Brett Kebble was shot dead in 2005.

The court heard that Agliotti was on his way to the morgue to identify Kebble's body when he received a call from Selebi.

Payment request

“The day after Kebble died, I had to go to the mortuary to identify the body… In the car driving to the morgue I received a call from the accused and I had a conversation with him whereby he requested a sum of money.”

However, defence lawyer Jaap Cilliers said Selebi never called to ask his former friend for money.

“The accused denies that he ever phoned you for a request for money."

“That's his version, yes,” replied Agliotti. “We discussed [telephonically] on numerous occasions requests for money."

Kebble was shot dead in his car in Melrose, Johannesburg, on the night of September 27 2005.

Murder trial

Agliotti was arrested for the murder in November 2006 and was set to go on trial next year.

He told the court on Tuesday he would plead “not guilty” to the crime.

Agliotti said he could not remember if he had met Selebi or given him money the day after Kebble died.

“I had been on the phone to his family after he had been murdered – call it what you want… so I cannot say exactly when I met with the accused… It was a very traumatic day and course of events.”

Scorpions

He also testified that Selebi once told him the Scorpions should be disbanded.

“He [Selebi] said as far as he was concerned the DSO [Directorate of Special Operations] should be absorbed into SAPS and he had discussed it with the then president [Thabo Mbeki],” said Agliotti.

A replacement crime fighting unit for the Scorpions, the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation - also known as the Hawks - was launched in July this year.

On Tuesday morning, altercations between the State and defence seemed to take up more court time than actual witness testimony.

Bickering

At one point, Joffe sternly told them: “The case is hard enough. To get involved in acrimonious fighting is just uncalled for.”

When counsel continued bickering, he told them to meet after court finished for the day and sort out “the way forward”.

“Speak amongst yourselves and sort it out so we can proceed without any further personal issues.”

Selebi is facing a charge of corruption and another of defeating the ends of justice in connection with at least R1.2m he allegedly received from Agliotti and others in return for favours.

- SAPA