Ex-police chief's trial expected to expose corruption

South Africa's former chief of police claimed that he was the victim of a "grand conspiracy" yesterday at the start of a trial that could reveal the extent of corruption in the country's judicial and criminal systems.

Jackie Selebi, who is also a former head of Interpol, is accused of taking bribes from organised crime bosses, one of whom has been implicated in the murder of one of South Africa's richest men.

Selebi pleaded not guilty at the High Court in Johannesburg yesterday to charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice. He then threatened to "drop bombshells" as he left the courthouse.

The case is expected to stir up the controversial details of the bitter power struggle between South Africa's President, Jacob Zuma, and his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki.

The ANC rivals politicised almost all areas of the judicial system, the police and intelligence services as they sought to discredit each other. Zuma faced six years of corruption hearings before charges were dropped on a technicality earlier this year, before his election.

Mbeki, who stood down last year after being accused of interfering with judicial proceedings, has been accused of protecting Selebi from an investigation by the Scorpions, South Africa's anti-corruption unit.

In a defence which directly echoes that of Zuma during his prosecution for graft, Selebi has quickly sought to portray the case against him as politically inspired.

His lawyers said the charges were part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the National Prosecuting Authority in which known criminals have been bribed to testify against him.

Neither Selebi nor Zuma have spent time addressing the detail of the charges against them.

At the heart of Selebi's trial is the accusation that in return for payments of at least $150,000 over five years, he protected the drug trafficking operations of Glenn Agliotti - a drug smuggler who was also accused of playing a role in the 2005 murder of the mining tycoon Brett Kebble.

The prosecution will focus on a 2002 drugs seizure of Mandrax with a street value of 105 million rand ($19 million). The subsequent investigation was a failure. Even those who were caught red-handed were released.

Selebi, an anti-apartheid activist with links to senior ANC figures, was a political appointee when he became the first black head of the police in 2000. He was given the job despite having no policing experience.

Mbeki extended the accused's contract despite corruption allegations and he was only forced to stand down in January of last year.

The trial continues.

- INDEPENDENT