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PRETORIA - South African President Thabo Mbeki said he had put national police chief Jackie Selebi on a leave of absence before the commissioner faces expected corruption charges.
Mbeki, who had stood behind Selebi despite calls for his sacking, made the announcement a day after prosecutors said they would charge Selebi with corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering. He allegedly received payments from his friend Glenn Agliotti, a convicted drug smuggler accused of playing a role in the 2005 murder of a South African mining magnate.
Selebi is also president of Interpol, which said it was monitoring his situation carefully and would discuss it at a meeting next month.
- REUTERS
