Johannesburg — STATE Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele asked the South Gauteng High Court yesterday not to compel former national intelligence co-ordinator Barry Gilder to testify in the corruption trial of former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.

Cwele's advocate, Marumo Moerane SC said the information that Gilder was required to disclose was privileged and classified, and the Intelligence Services Act of 2002 prohibited the disclosure of such information by former members of the intelligence committee.

"The issue that we wish to raise relates to the 'compellability' of Gilder to give evidence to this court," Moerane said.

In his evidence, convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti told the court that Selebi showed him an intelligence report that contained a paragraph claiming that Selebi had received payments from slain mining magnate Brett Kebble.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the contents of the paragraph were in the public domain because Agliotti said he had seen the document and the former national director of public prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, had established that there was such a report. Nel also said the prosecution was sensitive to the ministry's desire to protect its sources and intelligence- gathering methods.

Judge Meyer Joffe asked both parties to present arguments when the trial resumes this afternoon.

Nel also indicated to the court that Gilder would probably be the last state witness.

Earlier, the court heard from Scorpions chief investigator Andrew Leask how investigations of Selebi began. Leask said the investigations started in January 2006 when Johannesburg director of public prosecutions Charin de Beer sought the Scorpions' help in the Kebble investigation.

Leask said there were suspicious calls between Kebble's security boss, Clinton Nassif, Agliotti and Kebble. Leask said there were also communications between Agliotti and Selebi. Leask said another security provider, Paul Stemmet, gave the Scorpions an affidavit in which he made allegations that implicated Agliotti in a drug bust in Kya Sands in 2001.

"Paul Stemmet also made reference to the relationship between Mr Agliotti and the accused," Leask said.

He said the Scorpions arrested Nassif in October 2006 on a charge of insurance fraud. Nassif's advocate, Barry Roux, had given the Scorpions a draft affidavit in which he provided information on the Kebble murder and on the relationship between Selebi and Agliotti, Leask said.

During cross-examination, Leask agreed with defence advocate Jaap Cilliers SC that Nassif and his employees, who were involved in serious crimes, were not prosecuted.

When Cilliers put it to Leask that Selebi's prosecution was undertaken with an ulterior motive, Leask said it was difficult to think how this could have happened.

Leask said that before the trial began, he did not know that Pikoli and his wife had received shares from Kebble and his father, Roger.

Selebi has pleaded not guilty to a count of corruption and one of defeating the ends of justice. The charges relate to allegations that he received payments from Agliotti, businessman Billy Rautenbach and Kebble in return for favours and protection.

In his plea explanation at the beginning of the trial, Selebi claimed that the National Prosecuting Authority approached several people and offered them indemnity for crimes such as murder, fraud and drug trafficking in exchange for false statements implicating him.