South Africa Police Chief Faces Criminal Charges

Prosecutors are to charge South Africa's police chief, Jackie Selebi, with accepting bribes from a convicted drug trafficker in return for protecting narcotics shipments, passing on confidential intelligence reports from Britain and interfering with a murder investigation.

Selebi, also the current head of Interpol, is expected to be forced to resign as police commissioner after he failed in a high court bid in Pretoria today to block the charges on the grounds this would tarnish his reputation.

A judge ruled that the administration of justice would be brought into disrepute if Selebi was not prosecuted, delivering another embarrassing blow to the ruling African National Congress after its new leader, Jacob Zuma, was charged a fortnight ago with bribery, fraud, racketeering, money laundering and tax evasion.

The director of public prosecutions, Mokotedi Mpshe, said the police commissioner will now be indicted but did not say when.

"The charges against him are based on a strong prima facie case supported by the testimony of a range of witnesses and corroborated by real evidence," he said.

The charges allege that Selebi accepted at least 1.2 million rand (£90,000) from Glen Agliotti, a convicted drug trafficker who is awaiting trial accused of murdering a corrupt mining magnate, Brett Kebble.

Selebi is alleged to have helped protect drug shipments into South Africa by "turning a blinding 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 South Africa's narcotics trade, last month 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. It is not clear if he has also agreed to testify against Selebi.

Agliotti is also accused of murder over the death of Kebble, who was shot six times in his Mercedes in 2005 by a team of assassins.

Kebble is believed to have stolen millions of pounds from his mining companies and had close ties to criminal syndicates.

The charges against Selebi allege that he tipped off Agliotti that he was being investigated over the killing and gave him information about the case.

Scrutiny of Selebi's relationship with the drug trafficker began after it was revealed that within minutes of Kebble's death, Agliotti called the police commissioner on his mobile phone.

Further questions arose when it was revealed that the police handed over the dead man's car to a close friend of Agliotti's immediately after the murder and before forensic tests could be done. The car was then cleaned, destroying crucial evidence.

Although Selebi described Agliotti as no more than an acquaintance, the drug trafficker's diary reveals they had regular meetings.

Among the other evidence used by prosecutors is a 144-page dossier submitted by Paul O'Sullivan, a former British military intelligence agent who headed security at South African airports.

It describes "a massive criminal syndicate, with tentacles into and out of Selebi's office" and accuses Selebi of "wining and dining the Mafia set" and of protecting criminal interests.

In his court application, Selebi claimed there is a "scandalous plot" against him, an accusation that has resonance in the ANC which is trying to assert political control over the independent investigations unit, known as the Scorpions, which has targeted Selebi, Zuma and other senior party figures.

The new ANC leadership met earlier this week to discuss placing the Scorpions - a part of the national prosecutors' office rather than the police - under the police commissioner's authority after accusing the investigations unit of pursuing a political agenda against the party in league with the press.