Ernest Mabuza
21 October 2009
Johannesburg — THE South Gauteng High Court yesterday watched another video recording in which convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti denied that money he received from mining group JCI was meant for former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
The recording was made in August 2003 when the head of police intelligence at the time, Mulangi Mphego, summoned Agliotti for a meeting after he had heard about a R1m consultancy fee that Agliotti received for access to Selebi. In the recording, Agliotti denied to Mphego that the money was meant for Selebi and admitted to using Selebi's name to get the money from JCI boss the late Brett Kebble and father Roger.
The screening of the video by the defence is meant to show that Agliotti had received money from the Kebbles by using Selebi's name. In his evidence in chief, Agliotti told the court that he had lied to Mphego because he did not want Mphego to know Selebi was on his payroll.
The state has charged Selebi with three counts of corruption and one of defeating the administration of justice. Charges relate to payments Selebi allegedly received from Agliotti, mining businessman and former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach, and Brett Kebble. Selebi has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
In the recording, Agliotti tells Mphego that the Kebbles believed that the former national director of public prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, would leave the now-defunct Scorpions and go to work in a mining group. Agliotti said Ngcuka would use his influence over his wife, who was minister of minerals and energy at the time. In the recording, Agliotti told Mphego that the money he received from JCI was used for various businesses, including tobacco trading in Zimbabwe.
The morning proceedings focused on an alleged video recording that City Press watched, of Agliotti meeting National Intelligence Agency (NIA) officials on January 4 last year. At that meeting, Agliotti allegedly handed an affidavit to former NIA director-general Manala Manzini denying he had bribed Selebi and claiming the corruption charges against Selebi were part of a political conspiracy by the Scorpions.
Judge Meyer Joffe said what concerned him was that somebody was trying to influence the proceedings of this trial. "It appears to me that somebody has shown the video to the reporter with (the) intention of influencing proceedings in this courtroom," Joffe said.
Agliotti testified last week that Mphego requested the January 7 meeting, where he was recorded as saying he did not bribe Selebi. But the January 4 meeting, seen by City Press, allegedly shows Agliotti requesting a meeting, saying he had more to add to his statement.
Agliotti said he had no recollection of the recording. Although Selebi's advocate, Jaap Cilliers SC, said he had not seen the video , he said it showed Agliotti took the initiative in requesting the January 7 meeting. Cilliers said Agliotti lied in evidence when he said the request for a further meeting came from Mphego. He was entitled to test his credibility.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel objected to testimony on the alleged January 4 video , saying it referred to illegally obtained evidence.
Nel said he was willing to allow the defence time to get the recording.
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