20100420
sabc

Former Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi has insisted that he is not tired as his corruption trial was adjourned in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. Selebi has spent more than five hours in the witness box. The State asked for an adjournment, saying Selebi must be tired.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel and the Defence Advocate, Jaap Cilliers, had long agreed to adjourn proceedings early in the afternoon.

Selebi insisted that the prosecution should not use him as an excuse, if they wanted an early adjournment. The adjournment comes on the back of intense cross examination and renewed bickering between Selebi and the prosecution.

Selebi denies ever having had the draft 2005 National Intelligence Estimate report in his possession, let alone showing it to convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti. Instead, Selebi says he declassified a police report about information peddlers and showed this to Agliotti.

Selebi says he wanted to find out more about businessman Jurgen Kogl, an information peddler and the source of an allegation that the murdered mining magnate Brett Kebble had bribed Selebi. He says he has the declassified report at home, while the classified version was submitted by his defence in court.

Selebi is accused of corrupt relationships with convicted drug lord Glenn Agliotti, murdered mining magnate, Kebble and former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach.

The charges allege that Selebi accepted at least R1.2m from Glenn Agliotti, a convicted drug trafficker who is awaiting trial accused of murdering mining magnate, Kebble. Selebi is alleged to have helped protect drug shipments into South Africa by 'turning a blind eye'. According to the indictment, he also passed on to Agliotti confidential UK intelligence reports about his trafficking. Selebi has vigorously denied the accusations.

Agliotti, nicknamed 'the landlord' for his extensive role in the narcotics trade, has since pleaded guilty to smuggling two tonnes of Pakistani hashish into the country under a plea bargain that saw him receive a suspended 10-year prison sentence and a fine in return for agreeing to be a witness against drug syndicates.