JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – One of South Africa’s most notorious drug kingpins said yesterday that he had given former police chief Jackie Selebi cash and gifts out of generosity, not for protection against the law.
The case of one-time Interpol president Selebi, on trial for corruption, has exposed rivalries and sleaze at the highest levels of South Africa’s establishment.
Glenn Agliotti, who is facing his own trial next year for the murder of a mining tycoon, said this week Selebi had warned him of a British investigation and that he had given the police chief hundreds of thousands of rands in cash and gifts.
But he said yesterday the gifts were merely for friendship and that Selebi did not know of his criminal background.
Asked by the defence if he had received any “improper assistance” from Selebi in exchange for the gifts, Agliotti said: “I agree with you, the accused was my friend. It (the relationship) was based on friendship and I used that for my own gains.”
