"They Will Never Arrest Me" [Sunday Times, 2007-09-30]

Publication: Sunday Times Issued: Date: 2007-09-30 Reporter: Wisani wa ka Ngobeni Reporter: Buddy Naidu Reporter: Mpumelelo Mkhabela Reporter: Dominic Mahlangu

"They Will Never Arrest Me"

Publication	Sunday Times
Date	2007-09-30
Reporter	Wisani wa ka Ngobeni, Buddy Naidu, Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Dominic Mahlangu
Web Link	www.sundaytimes.co.za

Come and Get Me: National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi Picture: James Oatway

‘If there is a warrant for me, I will stand on the 10th floor of the Sandton Towers so that the Scorpions can arrest me'

‘I am very disappointed with Thabo’

Shocking new revelations in Pikoli saga

Top cop Selebi hits back defiantly over warrant

Frustrated Cabinet ministers say they are being kept in dark by Mbeki

Claims of intense pressure to fast-track case against Zuma before ANC congress

National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi has defiantly challenged the Scorpions to arrest him.

Yesterday, he broke his silence about the warrant for his arrest obtained last week by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

“I will never be arrested,” he said. “If there is a warrant for me I will stand on the 10th floor of the Sandton Towers so that the Scorpions can arrest me.

“I am not bothered at all. For what must I be arrested? There is no such thing as a warrant. It does not exist. I will not comment on the charges as there is no warrant.”

Selebi said he knew who had started the allegations that the Scorpions wanted to arrest him and that the person “was now in hiding”.

But the Sunday Times has established from a variety of sources that the warrant does exist. It relates to charges of racketeering, corruption, defeating the ends of justice and being an accessory after the fact to the murder of mining tycoon Brett Kebble.

Some of the charges relate to Selebi’s friendship with Glenn Agliotti, the alleged organised- crime boss who is an accused in Kebble’s murder.

Selebi’s defiant stand comes in a week of high drama that started with President Thabo Mbeki abruptly suspending NPA director Vusi Pikoli.

Criticism and speculation about the reason continued all week.

Yesterday, some Cabinet ministers said they were left frustrated by the developments. One said only those in the “super league” or close to Mbeki knew what was happening.

“We feel that we have been sidelined. How can you explain this? We get to know things via other channels. We are hardly briefed and even if something major happens, it’s always after the decision has been taken that we are informed.

“I am very disappointed with Thabo.”

Pikoli was told on Monday he had been dumped because of his bitter relationship with Brigitte Mabandla, the Minister of Justice, who has political oversight of the NPA.

But within days it became clear the real reason was his failure to discuss the Selebi warrant of arrest with either Mbeki or Mabandla.

The Sunday Times can also reveal that intense political pressure was earlier put on Pikoli to charge Jacob Zuma before the ANC’s conference in December, where the party’s next president will be elected.

Pikoli resisted the call, insisting the case was too weak and he wanted to wait for the finalisation of Zuma’s legal challenge at the Supreme Court of Appeals before making any decision on new charges.

Pikoli insisted that charges would probably be laid against Zuma only in April next year.

It is now anticipated that with Pikoli out of the way, even temporarily, the case against Zuma will be fast-tracked and fresh charges will be put to him as early as the end of October.

Pikoli was also shafted for, among other things:

• Using a private security agency to probe aspects of the arms deal that allegedly unearthed information with serious implications for Mbeki *1;

• His handling of the Browse report, which alleged Zuma was being financially funded by several African leaders in his bid to become South Africa’s next president. The report, rubbished by the Presidency, was compiled by the same security firm; and

• Refusing to charge six senior ANC officials with apartheid-era crimes in the immediate aftermath of the Adriaan Vlok plea-bargain case.

The Sunday Times has established that on the day the warrant for Selebi’s arrest was obtained, Pikoli’s axing was discussed at a top-level ANC meeting. Secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe raised it with senior leaders including Zuma, the party’s treasurer, Mendi Msimang, and deputy secretary-general Sankie MthembiMahanyele.

It was Justice Minister Mabandla who first told Pikoli to resign at a tense meeting with Mbeki, Scorpions head Leornard McCarthy and Justice director- general Menzi Simelane in Pretoria last Saturday.

Mbeki subsequently held separate meetings with Mabandla and Pikoli before making a final decision on Sunday, ahead of his trip to the UN in New York.

The battle between Pikoli and Mabandla had been simmering for some time and they were no longer on speaking terms.

He avoided dealing with her directly and would often send foreign-travel requests to Mabandla for approval without speaking to her.

Officials in the Department of Justice said that when the two were in Cape Town they avoided each other.

“When one of them is flying out of Cape Town or Johannesburg, the other will make sure to take the next flight. They have been avoiding each other for months, and they make sure they don’t share public space except in Parliament or during Cabinet briefings.”

Mbeki claimed that Pikoli had consistently refused to report to Mabandla about the NPA’s work, particularly high-profile cases.

She was reportedly furious about not being informed about the Selebi warrant or the August 2005 raids on Zuma’s house and lawyers’ offices.

Her ire was further raised after Pikoli decided to separate the Scorpions from the NPA by turning it into an independent body. Mabandla had no knowledge of the plan.

Government spokesman Themba Maseko told the Sunday Times the government would not comment about the Selebi warrant of arrest.

Early last night, Maseko informed the Sunday Times that Mbeki had appointed former Speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala to head the commission that will investigate Pikoli’s conduct. When approached for comment last night, Ginwala said she was “shocked and suprised” as she had not heard about her appointment yet.

With acknowledgements to Wisani wa ka Ngobeni, Buddy Naidu, Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Dominic Mahlangu and Sunday Times.

*1 Like I've said, this is my theory and I'm sticking to it.

The other matters are not serious enough for the persona to have acted in such a manner.

Mbeki and his stooge Mabandla waited until they could use another excuse or other excuses to suspend Pikoli.

"They Will Never Arrest Me ."