SOUTH AFRICA’S former police commissioner Jackie Selebi was sentenced to 15 years in prison yesterday by a high court judge who labelled him an “embarrassment” and a “stranger to the truth”.
Selebi was found guilty of corruption early last month by Judge Meyer Joffe for taking bribes of around €130,000 from convicted drug lord Glenn Agliotti in return for favours and turning a blind eye to his business dealings.
“I am satisfied that a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment is appropriate in the matter,” said Joffe, who added the “manufactured evidence” the former Interpol president gave during his stint in the dock was embarrassing given his knowledge of the courts.
On Monday Selebi’s defence team asked the judge to consider a suspended jail sentence and a fine in light of the fact the accused had suffered such a dramatic fall from grace.
However, Judge Joffe yesterday appeared unmoved by the plea, reflecting that Selebi could have said no to the cash and gifts offered to him by Agliotti at any point, which was something a junior officer would have been expected to do.
It also seems Judge Joffe’s decision to send the 60-year-old to jail was shaped by the accused’s conduct during the trial.
“At no stage during the trial did the accused display any indication of remorse. The accused lied and fabricated evidence in an effort to escape the consequences of his conduct,” he said.
Selebi, who was released on €1,900 bail, now has 14 days to lodge an appeal against his conviction. The Democratic Alliance party said the outcome was a “rare instance of justice” against a corrupt official with strong connections to the ruling African National Congress party. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) commented the sentence was too lenient given the professional positions Selebi held at home and abroad at the time he was charged.
“He was not only an embarrassment to the SAPS [South African Police Services], but to the country’s image abroad because of his involvement with Interpol,” said IFP spokesperson Velaphi Ndlovu.
The independent anti-corruption police unit the Scorpions – which, much to the dismay of many South Africans was disbanded last year by the government – received special praise for its role in the investigation.
Selebi is the most senior government official to receive a jail term in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.